Featured camp of the month: Popular Dance Intensive

Parker Espada in On the Edge

Many people recognize the Patel Conservatory for our exceptional ballet program. They may not know, however, that the Conservatory recently expanded our dance program by adding more classes and more flexibility for students wanting to study additional dance styles.

Led by Kelly King, a former Radio City Rockette for 12 years, the new Patel Conservatory Popular Dance program allows dancers to explore popular dance styles for opportunities such as Broadway, television, theme parks and more.

The growth of the program in the past year inspired a new camp this summer, the Popular Dance Intensive, which will be Aug. 10 through Aug. 14, 2015.

Parker Espada, 13, who joined the Conservatory’s ballet program last summer to work on her technique, also participated in the Popular Dance program.

“I liked it because it was different from what we were doing in my other classes [jazz and ballet]. It allowed me to work on contemporary and get the challenge that I needed to improve as a dancer,” she said.

The week-long intensive, led by King and Patel Conservatory dance faulty Susan Downey, will immerse dancers in multiple forms of commercial dance including tap, Broadway, contemporary and musical theater.

“I’m looking forward to taking different styles of dance, like tap. I normally don’t take tap,” said Parker.

Students will work with teaching artists who have years of professional experience on Broadway, on tour, and in television and film. The week will culminate in a ticketed performance in the Straz Center’s Ferguson Hall on Sat., Aug. 15 at 2:30 p.m.

Students will also be given the opportunity to audition a contemporary or jazz solo that may be included in the show.

Parker looks forward to the week-long intensive as part of her training. She hopes to one day be a professional dancer and feels the Conservatory has helped push her to the next level.

Being at the Conservatory, “has been a very, very good experience. As a dancer, it’s allowed me to grow.”

The Popular Dance Intensive is open to dancers in grades six through 12. For more information or to register, call 813.222.1040 or visit strazcenter.org.

PCPD Show Team takes second place at Starquest competition

Congratulations to the Patel Conservatory Show Team on their exceptional performance last weekend at the Starquest dance competition held at Jefferson High School.

Their group piece, Eyes, received Platinum in the Contemporary division and 2nd place overall top score in the Teen Large Group category. In addition, instructor Kelly King was recognized as Outstanding Choreographer.

We’re so excited and proud of them for all their hard work and dedication!

The Show Team is part of the Patel Conservatory’s new Popular Dance program launched this year, in which students explore various styles of popular dance including hip hop, jazz, contemporary and our own Rockette-style class Just for Kicks.

The Show Team will perform in one more competition this month.

Check out these students, as well as students from our Popular Dance program, Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet and Next Generation Ballet, in our upcoming dance concert On the Edge on Apr. 18 in the Straz Center’s Ferguson Hall.

Show Team performs in two competitions in February

Patel Conservatory student perform a
contemporary piece in 2014 On the Edge

Best of luck to our Patel Conservatory Popular Dance (PCPD) Show Team as they compete in two regional dance competitions this month.

Show Team students will compete in Starquest at Jefferson High School this Sun., Feb. 8 and at the Dance America/ Dance Olympus competition on Sat., Feb 14, 2015 at the Straz Center.

“These types of competitions attract dance studios from all over the Tampa Bay area. It’s great exposure and experience for our students, and it helps expand their knowledge of the dance industry,” said Show Team instructor Kelly King.

The Conservatory’s Show Team is a choreography class in which students learn and rehearse dance repertoire for competitions.

“I really like the class, it’s really fun. Learning choreography helps me with other classes, too,” said longtime Conservatory student Camila Daniel.

Camila, 14, has taken ballet at the Conservatory for seven years. She’s also taken an array of other classes including tap, musical theater, hip hop, contemporary and jazz.

She says Show Team helps sharpen her skills by working on new choreography and then polishing each piece.

“Miss Kelly teaches me a lot of things that I never thought I could do. She pushes you to the maximum,” said Camila.

Students competing are: Kathryn Gutierrez, Madison Potantus, Lauren Townsend, Camila Daniel, Kristina Biglete, Gabriela Miller, Alexis Diamond, Alex Correa, Miriam Spada, Parker Espada, Helen Textor, Liam Boswell, Shayna Goodman and Daryn Diaz. They come from various schools in the Tampa area including Blake High School, Tampa Preparatory School and Land O' Lakes High School, and some are Next Generation Ballet trainees here at the Conservatory.

These student have put in extra time and rehearsals to prepare for the upcoming competitions.

Camila Daniel

“Competing is about working as a team. No matter what happens, the students know that they’ve made that journey together through hard work,” said King.

As part of the Dance America competition, dancers will also have an opportunity to participate in workshops throughout the day on Sun., Feb 15 with guest artists such as Linda Gianscapa, Sam Fiorello, Dustin Phillips, Brandon Girouard and Germaul Barnes.

“I’ve never done a competition before, so I’m excited to see what other schools are going to show and what their students are doing,” said Camila.

With the growth of the PCPD program, we’ve added a new PCPD intensive this summer from Aug. 10 to Aug. 14, 2015. Designed for students interested in the commercial dance industry, the week-long intensive will immerse dancers in popular styles including tap, Broadway, contemporary and musical theater.

For more information about our PCPD program, please call 813.222.1002 or click here.