Patel Conservatory celebrates 10 years of inspiration

The Straz Center’s Patel Conservatory is proud to be celebrating our 10th Anniversary this month!

Join us for the Conservatory's Spotlight Celebration on Jan. 28, 2015 as we celebrate 10 years of excellence in performing arts education.

Since December, 2004, the Patel Conservatory has been training young artists to hone their skills and enter the world of professional performing arts. We celebrate 10 years of inspiration, and we look forward to many years ahead!

Dr. Pallavi and Kiran Patel

“Ten years ago, we hoped to see eager and ambitious kids with dreaming eyes, happy faces and enchanting voices all yearning to perfect their skills in the performing arts,” said Dr. Pallavi Patel, whose generous support, along with her husband, Dr. Kiran Patel, inspired many others to give and made the Conservatory a reality.

“Ten years later, thousands of students have come here for training. They make us so proud: the dream we had ten years ago has been realized.”

In the past decade, the Conservatory has grown to offer camps and classes for approximately 2,000 students a year, who perform in more than 20 ticketed productions a year in our Straz Center theaters, gaining valuable experience in a professional setting.

“For me, it means a lot more than just the training,” said Carlin Dixon, who started taking dance in 2006 at the Conservatory when she was six years old. She is now 15 years old and a trainee with the Conservatory’s Next Generation Ballet pre-professional company.

“It’s such a great experience. Everyone cares so much about what you want to do and where you want to go in life. They help you attain those dreams and aspirations.”

Our students have gone on to perform on Broadway and in prestigious dance companies including Boston Ballet, Hamburg Ballet and many more.

Carlin Dixon

“It’s really an amazing program, and wonderful for students who are pursuing a career in the arts, or even just for fun,” said Carlin.

In addition to our on-site classes, we partner with organizations throughout the Tampa Bay area to provide performing arts experiences for underserved communities. We also offer scholarships to keep our camps and classes accessible for all students who wish to study the performing arts.

As a parent who has been with the Conservatory since our early years, Carlin’s mom Deirdre has seen the growth and expansion of programs.

“The classes have gotten more formal and in-depth, it’s only gotten better and better,” she said.

The Conservatory’s curriculum and outreach programs continue to evolve. While we celebrate the achievements of the past decade, we look forward to building on this extraordinary foundation to serve more aspiring artists in our community and beyond.

“People travel from all over to come here. We are really blessed to have the Patel Conservatory in Tampa,” said Deirdre.

We thank our patrons, donors, partners and all of our supporters for being a part of our mission to help students dream, reach, discover and create!

Join us for our Spotlight Celebration on Jan. 28, 2015 as we celebrate 10 years of inspiration by showcasing the talents of our dance, theater and music students. It's an evening of performances that captures the essence of all that the Patel Conservatory offers our students and our community. For more info, click here.