About Us |
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As one of the first students at the newly formed Pennsylvania Ballet School in the 60’s, our Director, Beth, received excellent ballet training with that young dynamic school. She performed with many of the Regional Theater and Dance Companies in the Philly area working with amazing directors and cast members. As her resume and experience developed, her role extended to Choreographer, which was a perfect fit for her energy and creativity. Through this era, she observed the many facets of working with various performing artists and how to draw out their unique talents.
She also began teaching classical ballet and jazz, to build technically remarkable dancers with personality and charisma. The many hours in a dance studio was valuable time spent with her dancers and finding their voices as artists.
Fast forward to the year 2000. Beth and her husband, Marcello, opened BB’s Dance Factory, located in the old Clearwater Mall . This was years before Target and Costco made that land their home. There was a constant audience of shoppers walking through the Mall and stopping to peer in the windows at the dance classes. It was very exciting! As time passed, BB's Dance Factory built a bevy of young talented dancers, specializing in classical ballet, jazz and musical theater.
AND THEN CAME THE CIRCUS…
One day Beth's daughter Catie, who was one of these lovely young dancers, decided that she didn't want to be a dancer anymore. Instead, she wanted to run away with the circus and be a “contortionist”. Her Fairy God Mother had given her a video of the 4 little pink contortionists with Cirque du Soleil from their early show “Nouvelle Experience”. It was fabulously fascinating. All Catie wanted to do was put her toes over her head. Then she started to get all the other girls at the dance studio to put their toes over their heads.
Needless to say, Catie’s wish was the beginning of a wonderful journey and provided the vision for the Circus Arts program.
At age 16, Catie was shipped off to train with Chinese contortion coach, Master Lu Yi, and Mongolian coach Serchmaa Byamba, all the way over in San Francisco, as this was the only place in the country at that time where she could get the proper training. After two years of intensive work, she became a respected dancer/acrobat/contortionist in the entertainment industry.
As Beth watched Catie train one day during a visit, she observed the other athletes training in the gym. All of this was very interesting to her as a choreographer and artistic director. So instead of just sitting and watching Catie train as a doting mother…she decided to get herself a few lessons and wrap her wits around a trapeze. If she could incorporate this circus stuff in her dance shows, how much fun would that be?!
Hence the Circus Arts program was conceived at the dance studio. Changing the studio's name to “Dance & Circus Arts of Tampa Bay”, they were not only training dancers, but were also now training circus artists. It was a fairly logical sequence and it was very exciting.
The school went on to produce 7 years of “The Snow Princess”, a unique grand Holiday show, 6 years of “Fairies, Inc.", an endearing romp in Fairyland incorporating dance, musical theater and circus, along with numerous Galas and showcases and yearly recitals.
The circus program was “Safety Recognized" by the American Youth Circus Organization in 2015, being one of the first circus schools in the country to apply and receive this award.
To date, many beautiful dancers, aerialists and dancer/aerialists have been trained under their roof, including out of town students hailing from 42 states and 10 countries.
They founded a performing troupe that gets hired out for corporate events, private parties, national fundraisers, etc. Clients include Ruth Eckerd Hall, Armature Works, the Dali Museum, Lokey Clearwater Mercedes-Benz, the Coliseum, Jannus Landing, PARC, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the United Way. You can see more of these beautiful performers at their professional website Moving Arts of Tampa Bay.
Fourteen years of ongoing circus performances every Saturday and Sunday nights at Casa Tina’s Mexican Restaurant in Downtown Dunedin have established them as a Tampa Bay icon. People remark, “Oh, so that’s you guys!” And we reply, "Yes, it is!"
Beth & Marcello are very proud of their students who have gone onto professional performing careers and those that grew into wonderful adults with their own families now.
This is their story. This is how it all came about.
Please come visit their beautiful spacious facility located in Clearwater, FL. You, too, will want to twirl and dance. And maybe some of you will want to run away with the Circus!
She also began teaching classical ballet and jazz, to build technically remarkable dancers with personality and charisma. The many hours in a dance studio was valuable time spent with her dancers and finding their voices as artists.
Fast forward to the year 2000. Beth and her husband, Marcello, opened BB’s Dance Factory, located in the old Clearwater Mall . This was years before Target and Costco made that land their home. There was a constant audience of shoppers walking through the Mall and stopping to peer in the windows at the dance classes. It was very exciting! As time passed, BB's Dance Factory built a bevy of young talented dancers, specializing in classical ballet, jazz and musical theater.
AND THEN CAME THE CIRCUS…
One day Beth's daughter Catie, who was one of these lovely young dancers, decided that she didn't want to be a dancer anymore. Instead, she wanted to run away with the circus and be a “contortionist”. Her Fairy God Mother had given her a video of the 4 little pink contortionists with Cirque du Soleil from their early show “Nouvelle Experience”. It was fabulously fascinating. All Catie wanted to do was put her toes over her head. Then she started to get all the other girls at the dance studio to put their toes over their heads.
Needless to say, Catie’s wish was the beginning of a wonderful journey and provided the vision for the Circus Arts program.
At age 16, Catie was shipped off to train with Chinese contortion coach, Master Lu Yi, and Mongolian coach Serchmaa Byamba, all the way over in San Francisco, as this was the only place in the country at that time where she could get the proper training. After two years of intensive work, she became a respected dancer/acrobat/contortionist in the entertainment industry.
As Beth watched Catie train one day during a visit, she observed the other athletes training in the gym. All of this was very interesting to her as a choreographer and artistic director. So instead of just sitting and watching Catie train as a doting mother…she decided to get herself a few lessons and wrap her wits around a trapeze. If she could incorporate this circus stuff in her dance shows, how much fun would that be?!
Hence the Circus Arts program was conceived at the dance studio. Changing the studio's name to “Dance & Circus Arts of Tampa Bay”, they were not only training dancers, but were also now training circus artists. It was a fairly logical sequence and it was very exciting.
The school went on to produce 7 years of “The Snow Princess”, a unique grand Holiday show, 6 years of “Fairies, Inc.", an endearing romp in Fairyland incorporating dance, musical theater and circus, along with numerous Galas and showcases and yearly recitals.
The circus program was “Safety Recognized" by the American Youth Circus Organization in 2015, being one of the first circus schools in the country to apply and receive this award.
To date, many beautiful dancers, aerialists and dancer/aerialists have been trained under their roof, including out of town students hailing from 42 states and 10 countries.
They founded a performing troupe that gets hired out for corporate events, private parties, national fundraisers, etc. Clients include Ruth Eckerd Hall, Armature Works, the Dali Museum, Lokey Clearwater Mercedes-Benz, the Coliseum, Jannus Landing, PARC, Make-A-Wish Foundation, Big Brothers Big Sisters and the United Way. You can see more of these beautiful performers at their professional website Moving Arts of Tampa Bay.
Fourteen years of ongoing circus performances every Saturday and Sunday nights at Casa Tina’s Mexican Restaurant in Downtown Dunedin have established them as a Tampa Bay icon. People remark, “Oh, so that’s you guys!” And we reply, "Yes, it is!"
Beth & Marcello are very proud of their students who have gone onto professional performing careers and those that grew into wonderful adults with their own families now.
This is their story. This is how it all came about.
Please come visit their beautiful spacious facility located in Clearwater, FL. You, too, will want to twirl and dance. And maybe some of you will want to run away with the Circus!
