Wilhelm Burmann, a revered ballet master and teacher who trained generations of dancers, including Alessandra Ferri, Julio Bocca, Maria Kowroski and Wendy Whelan, died on Monday in Manhattan. He was 80.

Jane Haugh, his friend and health care proxy, said the cause was renal failure. He had also recently tested positive for the coronavirus.

With a sharp wit and a dry, sometimes withering delivery, Mr. Burmann could get to the essence of a dancer, ballet or otherwise. His advanced professional ballet class, which he started teaching in 1984 at Steps on Broadway, on the Upper West Side of Manhattan, drew dancers from the modern dance world, too.

Mr. Burmann was a part of “so many of our histories — across the world and across disciplines,” recalled Ms. Whelan, the former New York City Ballet principal who is now the company’s associate artistic director.