ON THE APPALACHIAN TRAIL - Jacques d'Amboise has danced on the world's greatest stages, but his latest stage is his biggest -or at least his longest.

A former principal dancer with the New York City Ballet and the founder of the National Dance Institute, the 65-year-old d'Amboise is hiking the Appalachian Trail. The entire trail. All 2, 160 miles of it.

Along the way, he is raising funds to help create dance programs around the country like the one he began in Trenton 10 years ago. Over the past decade, d'Amboise has shown area children the art of dance and the values of discipline and education. He said he hopes to raise $1 million by the time he finishes his trek in December.

Hiking across the New Jersey state line on Tuesday, d'Amboise said he had raised about $250,000 so far to help young people fulfill their dreams. At that point, he had hiked 800 miles.

He takes dimes and dollars from hikers on the trail and more substantial contributions from people making donations for each mile he hikes.

Hiking the trail fulfills d'Amboise's own dream. While immersed in his dance career, d'Amboise couldn't put his legs -his lifeblood- through the stress of hiking.

"I dreamed of doing the Appalachian Trail ever since I was a boy," d'Amboise said. "I didn't really start hiking until I retired."

Much in the same manner he leads his dance students, d'Amboise takes charge on the trail. Just after 7 a.m. Tuesday, he couldn't wait to get moving. He took the lead and ushered his companions along, urgently.

While he is fulfilling his personal dream, it isn't one he is realizing alone. Clearly, d'Amboise relishes one aspect of the hike more than any other - sharing it with his son, George. The two are hiking the entire trail together.

Four decades ago, d'Amboise never imagined he would be able to share such an adventure with his son. Shortly after George was born, doctors discovered cancerous tumors around his nose. D'Amboise recalls doctors telling him: "Enjoy him while you have him."

"There was no way he was going to live," d'Amboise said.

When George was 4, doctors succeeded in removing the cancer. Now 42 and healthy, he is hiking with his father. The trail isn't much of a challenge for his son, considering he has trained pilots in survival courses in the Air Force, d'Amboise said.

Occasionally, his son hikes ahead of him and will set up the camp where they will sleep.

"My heart leaps when I get to the shelter and I see him," d'Amboise said. "I can't imagine hiking without him. I think how lonely it would be without him."

At 65, age hasn't sapped any of d'Amboise's cardiovascular conditioning. He hikes about 15 miles a day and is covering about 2 ½ miles per hour, which is a brisk pace. Keep in mind, this isn't walking on a flat sidewalk. This is climbing up and down rocky ridges and navigating through dense foliage.

While his stamina remains startling, years of knee injuries from his dance career make it difficult going down steep hills. The same legs that enabled him to soar through the air and land without a sound are pushed by the challenges of the rugged trail.

He relies heavily on two hiking sticks to allow him to relieve pressure on his knees, which can only bend so far before a slight snap can be heard. When his right knee popped after bending at about a 45-degree angle, d'Amboise asked with a smile, "Can you hear that?"

The answer was yes.

Even while hiking, d'Amboise enjoys talking. When he hears a piece of information that delights him, he lets out his surprise or joy with an exclamation of "Hooray!"

While he and his son began in Maine and will hike to Georgia, typically he meets people who began in the South and are heading to Maine. Frequently, hikers have heard about him and ask for a demonstration of his "trail dance."

"Nine out of 10 people on the trail expect to meet me," he said.

Hikers give each other nicknames, telling each other about other characters in a sort of trail telegraph. On the trail, d'Amboise is known as "Step-by-Step." His son is called "George of the Jungle." More modern communication methods in the form of TV reports and regular Internet updates of their progress have generated a great deal of publicity.

Tomorrow he will take a break from the hike to appear at the studios of New Jersey Network in Trenton. He will teach children and staff of Homefront, the Trenton S.W.A.T. Team and the Ennis Beley Project from Young Audiences of New Jersey his "Appalachian Trail Dance."

The Trenton appearance is one of dozens he is making to help raise funds and promote the National Dance Institute.

"When we do an event and I'm not on the trail, my body gets restless," d'Amboise said.

Of course, making personal appearances has its advantages.

"We'll go to the best restaurant in town, drink the finest wine," he said with a smile. "We just pig out."

Next year, he plans to spend the year going to foundations to match the $1 million he hopes to raise by December. Ultimately, he wants to raise $15 million to fund dance and arts programs in schools around the country.

He also hopes to begin working on a film based on his life. Miramax has a deal to develop a script that could begin production next year. D'Amboise said he would serve as choreographer on the film.

Still, d'Amboise embraces his current journey. On Tuesday, he reached the top of a ridge that offered a spectacular view of the mountains. Just north of the New Jersey border, the hills stretched for miles along gorgeous Greenwood Lake. He stopped for a moment to drink in the scene, but only for a moment.

Then he began inching down the peak and moving along the trail, anxious to see what lay ahead.

  

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