Last Aug. 7, early in the afternoon, Albano Ballet sent a cab from New Britain to bring my husband, Charles Frink, and me to attend the performance of “The Minister Black Veil” at Central Connecticut State University. The driver was a great host: he pointed out all the places of interest along the way — even made a detour to Wethersfield — telling their wonderful stories.

It may seem strange that the scene was new for a man who taught history for 30 years, and who had a special interest for what art could reveal about people and the way they lived. But Charles had stayed close to home to develop the material his students needed most, choosing what all could afford. He developed, with the assistance of one other teacher, instructional material about New London architecture in the context of the city´s history, and I believe it’s not accidental that the one ballet piece of his that has been chosen for revival after many years — it was first done in 1962 — is the one about the importance of personal responsibility, even if it means that one could find oneself at odds with the establishment.

In his life as a teacher, my husband did not deviate from the responsibility to the student. He always thought that everyone has a gift, and, because no two people learn in the same way, all education is special education. One of the reasons why he became so popular with so many students, and their parents, is that he did the necessary work to provide favorable learning conditions for each person. That is why even the ones who were challenged learned.

At the Memorial Service this past May, New London Superintendent of Schools Dr. Manuel Rivera, a former student, pointed at how far ahead of his time his pedagogical approaches were, and remembered Charles’ “skills” and compared them to today’s Common Core Standards. Those “skills” that he had developed were his bible: there were seven, each very specific, necessary to master in order to read, write and do a presentation well, and to prepare college-level papers. This got Charles in trouble. He was using textbooks only as another research material, believing that each student achieved mastery in his own unique way, using the material he liked and needed. The department head who presided before he did tried to get rid of him. But, as the Minister in the Hawthorne story, Charles never backed down.

It is this commitment for which Joseph Albano wishes to honor the memory of his former social studies teacher at New London High School. His ballet company has added one extra performance to its Summer Ballet series to do “The Minister Black Veil” close to home. It will be Aug. 6, a Thursday, at Mohegan Sun Casino, Cabaret Theater, at 7 p.m., followed by another performance on Sunday, at Central Connecticut State University.

According to Albano, this homage is very significant to him personally, and remembers the impact on his own education of the social studies class, and of how the teaching went beyond grades and the school building. They collaborated at the American Dance Festival at Connecticut College — Charles wrote a ballet piece for C. Weidman, for whom Albano danced.

After last year’s performance, Charles took a bow onstage with the dancers, many of them college and high school students, and then went backstage to talk to them. The dancers loved the music, they had found the story universal and could relate to its message of the acknowledgement of a transgression, and they had invited the audience to accept their own, to strengthen the community with shared responsibility.

Charles was delighted. He was glad that he had rewritten the whole ballet when he could not find the original score (he found it later) and Albano needed it to prepare this performance. His hard work as teacher and composer had come full circle together.

As James Madison said, “The advancement and diffusion of knowledge is the only guardian of true liberty.”

The performance of “The Minister Black Veil,” based on the Hawthorn story, with music by Charles Frink and choreography by Joseph Albano: Mohegan Sun Casino, Cabaret Theater, Aug. 6, at 7 p.m. Followed by Swan Lake, also with Albano choreography.

Resurrección Espinosa-Frink was one of the seven winners of the New Voices poetry contest in Madrid, Spring of 2014, and published in the anthology VOCES NUEVAS XXXVII, Ediciones Torremozas. She has recently completed a volume of poetry in memory of her late husband, Charles Frink, “Answer the Gift of Time.” Frink died Dec. 26.