Find something new in you!

Melanie Miller was a little self-conscious when she signed up for an adult tap dance class last summer. It'd been nearly 15 years since she set foot in a dance studio.

"I've run six marathons,” said Miller, 35, of Harbour Island. “But [running] was getting monotonous and boring. I wanted a new type of exercise.”

A co-worker at TECO took a tap class at the Patel Conservatory and recommended it to Miller.

“I was very nervous getting back into it. The word ‘conservatory’ sounds intimidating” she said, “but after 10 minutes, you’re at ease. Everyone was so welcoming, and they’re all at different levels. It wasn’t intimidating at all.”

Miller (top right) with the
summer hip-hop group.

When Miller was little, she took ballet, tap and jazz. Susan Downey’s tap class brought back her love of dance.

“Susan’s very encouraging. When I got back into dance, I was a little down on myself. Susan makes everyone feel like they’re the best dancer, she makes them feel special.”

In the fall, Miller continued with tap, and signed up for more classes. In the spring, she got to perform with Susan’s students for the Owls senior group in Northdale, and with the Opera Tampa in Carol Morsani Hall at the Straz Center.

Miller signed up for four classes over the summer (tap, ballet, jazz and hip-hop), and plans to sign up for two more this week.

“I love performing, I’m all about the recitals,” she admits. “I’m never going to be a prima ballerina, but just the chance every once in a while to get to dance on that big stage makes you feel so good.”

Are you looking for something new to invigorate your mind and body? Check out adult classes in dance, music and theater.

Spotlight on Hannah Bettes

Bettes in a performance of Swan Lake

Hannah Bettes is blessed with a gift. She possesses the extraordinary flexibility and natural talent of a ballerina.

At age 12, after taking ballet just a couple of times a week at a local studio, she was accepted on full scholarship to the summer intensive at the School of American Ballet (SAB) in New York City.

Bettes, 14, of Deland, FL, began dancing when she was 8 years old at a jazz studio. She soon joined their competition team, and later added ballet classes. Now, she’s been offered scholarships to three full-time dance programs. She chose the Patel Conservatory.

“I decided to come here because there were so many more opportunities here. We’ll be having two performances this year, if not more. There’s also a day program,” said Bettes. “And I’ll be under Peter Stark, which is a plus.”

Bettes has been chosen as one of the first apprentices of the new ballet company at the Straz Center, the Next Generation Ballet. She has moved to Tampa with her grandmother to study dance full-time at the Patel Conservatory and be part of the new ballet company. She’ll complete academic work online through Florida Virtual School.

Bettes’ ultimate goal is to one day study full-time at SAB and join the New York City Ballet, which is why she chose to study with Stark, the Patel Conservatory dance department chair and artistic director of Next Generation Ballet.

“Since he comes from that background, he’d be the right person to train with, and he’s a good coach,” said Bettes, who had the opportunity to train with Stark when he was director of the Orlando Ballet.

The formation of the Next Generation Ballet further establishes the Patel Conservatory at the Straz Center as a premier training ground for pre-professional dancers like Bettes.

The Next Generation Ballet will perform with guest artists, as well as Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet students, in full-scale productions at the Straz Center. Its first production will be The Nutcracker in December, featuring guest artists from the New York City Ballet and Boston Ballet.

Bettes will be training nearly eight hours a day, five days a week, an arduous schedule compared to her previous training.

“It’s going to be a big challenge, and it’s going to be a ton of work, but it’s all for the best,” said Bettes. “It’ll be a lot more dancing than I’m used to, but I’m excited to do something that I love.”

Audition opportunity

Dancers, don’t forget to sign up for this weekend's auditions to be in the Next Generation Ballet production of The Nutcracker.

Stark with PCYB students

This is an amazing opportunity for Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet students to perform on stage alongside guest artists from the New York City Ballet and Boston Ballet.

Directed by Peter Stark, former director of the acclaimed Orlando Ballet School, The Nutcracker will be the debut performance of Next Generation Ballet, the exciting new dance company at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

Next Generation Ballet will feature eight apprentice dancers, 12 trainee dancers and the finest students from the Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet’s 250 students.

Be a part of the exciting new opportunities at the Patel Conservatory. Auditions for The Nutcracker are this Sat., Aug. 28th. Please click here for full audition information. For questions about auditions or the Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet, please call the dance department at 222-1263.

Climb every mountain!

Climbing that mountain toward success, local teens will get the opportunity to perform on stage this weekend with the touring cast of The Sound of Music at the Straz Center for the Performing Arts.

Auditions were held at the beginning of August, and local teens, including many of our own students from the Patel Conservatory Youth Theater (PCYT), were cast as nuns, Nazis and party guests. They’ll get invaluable experience performing alongside the touring cast in the Carol Morsani Hall.

Congratulations to the students performing on the big stage this weekend! Break a leg!

Spotlight on Amanda Roa

Roa, at top, with fellow performers.

Today’s spotlight is on Patel Conservatory Youth Ballet instructor Amanda Roa.

As part of the professional dance company Shoes at the Door, Roa will be performing in the upcoming show Imprints. 

Roa received a B.A. in dance from the University of South Florida in 2006.  Her jointly choreographed work Apart of Me was featured in the NewGrounds dance festival, Hillsborough Community College Four Days of Dance, and at the Maxwell C. King Center in Melbourne, FL in 2009. In addition to teaching youth ballet classes, Roa teaches dance for our outreach partners including Metropolitan Ministries, Redlands Christian Migrant Association, and the Parkinson's group at USF.

Imprints, the first full-length show of Shoes at the Door, is a modern dance performance.

“There’s a nice variety in the choreography, so I think it’s a show that everyone will enjoy,” said Roa.

Check out Roa and her fellow dance company members in Imprints, playing Aug. 28th at USF Theatre I  at 3pm and 8pm. Tickets are $12 for adults and $10 for students and seniors. For more information, visit shoesatthedoor.org.

Spotlight on Johnny Maio

Today's spotlight is on another Tampa's Got Talent winner, Johnny Maio.

Maio, 14, won the dance category at last month's competition, which featured over 100 performers in dance, music and theater auditioning for their chance at a scholarship from the Patel Conservatory.

"I didn't really know what to expect, I just came in like it was a regular audition," said Maio, of Northdale, who amazed judges with his toe tapping Irish step moves.

When Maio was young, he saw Riverdance on TV. Maio thrilled at the prospect of learning Irish step.

He currently trains with instructor Brent Wood at Glor Na Daire in Jacksonville, commuting every week to classes. He homeschools and uses the long drive to do schoolwork.

He competes nationally with the National Irish Dance Association and was ranked 5th in the U.S. in 2009.

"I feel the fire of getting in front of an audience. It's different than practicing at home, it's like I'm ten times better," said Maio.

Johnny practices at Curtis Hixon Park

What does he love about dancing?

"I just like to jump really high, and tap my feet as fast as I can," said Maio. "Getting good at it is a fun challenge. I'd like to do as much as I can, tap, ballet, jazz."

He joins the Patel Conservatory this month taking ballet and tap classes.

Want to join Maio in the 'fun challenge' of dance? Registration is currently open for fall classes for adults and children in tap, ballet, jazz, hip-hop and more. Click here for a full class schedule.

Born to perform!

Elizabeth Harvath speaks comfortably about her young career on the stage.

Elizabeth Harvath, TGT winner

“I enjoy theater because I love telling stories, it’s just really fun,” said Harvath.

The 10-year old Tampa’s Got Talent winner from Safety Harbor seems born to be on stage. She takes 12 hours of dance a week, and voice and acting lessons. Last spring, she earned the lead role as Annie in her school production of Annie, Jr.

When she took a dance camp this summer at the Patel Conservatory, she was hooked. “After that, I had to go to another dance class.”

She signed up for Tampa’s Got Talent because she thought it’d be a good opportunity to try and get a scholarship, but didn’t expect to be a winner.

“I just thought I’d get up there and have some fun. I love auditions, I love the adrenalin rush,” said Harvath. “I was very surprised.”

Harvath performed My New Philosophy from You’re a Good Man, Charlie Brown. Her performance won over the judges, and she received the scholarship prize of musical theater classes for the upcoming year.

“I saw Cinderella, and I was very impressed,” she said. “I’m excited to be part of PCYT.”

As part of her participation with Patel Conservatory Youth Theater, Jr., Elizabeth will be able to be in next spring's performance of Alice in Wonderland, Jr.

For Harvath’s mom, Meredith, driving from Safety Harbor is no big deal. She is accustomed to working around her daughter’s busy performance schedule.

This year, Elizabeth will homeschool in order to “make the curriculum fit around her life,” said Meredith.

The mom and daughter theater lovers have been to many shows at the Straz Center.

“We’ve gone to the Wednesday night talk-backs, and it’s just lit a fire in her that’s unbelievable,” said Meredith.

Elizabeth is always eager with questions for the performers, wanting to know how they got where they are. Recurring advice from the professionals is to practice auditioning.

Elizabeth is up for the challenge. And Meredith is willing to help her daughter along that journey. She adds, “if you don’t try, you can’t get there.”

Fall classes in music, theater and dance start soon for anyone from the beginners to avid performers. Do you have that fire inside of you?