WORDS: Sheri Roca
PICTURES: Whitney Patton
Ms. Tracey Vita is a name you may recognize. She has become something of an icon in Manatee County, touching the lives of more than 200 families each and every year, for more than 42 years, through the art of dance.
At Tracey Vita’s School of Dance, the kids don’t dance for trophies, medals, or ribbons. They don’t dance to prove they are the best dancers. According to the girls, they dance to express themselves. They dance because, while they are dancing, they don’t think about things like school, family, friends, and the stresses of life. They dance because they love to dance.
And they love Ms. Tracey. In fact, for many, the school has become an extended family. Some dancers have been with Ms. Tracey since they were three years old and have made many of their closest friends at the studio. They share their problems and life lessons, and when a new dancer joins the studio, she is welcomed and brought into the family. One of the dancers remarked that the studio and the dancing simply seem to “bring them together.”
It all started for Tracey at the age of three at the Ramsey, N.J. Dance Academy. From there, Tracey enjoyed an exciting dance career. At the early and enthusiastic age of 10, Tracey studied under Vitale Fokine, son of Michael Fokine, choreographer to Pavlova. Through middle and high school, she danced with the Mid-Hudson Regional Ballet dance company, supported by the Eleanor Roosevelt Foundation. Tracey performed with the company in such prestigious locations as Jacob’s Pillow and the Lincoln Center, throughout New York City and into Canada. Tracey continued her dance education at St. Leo’s University in Tampa, where she also studied elementary education.
In 1981, Tracey told her father soon after graduation, “I just need a big room and a record player to start my dance school.” “And I did,” she exclaims with a smile. The studio took off the first year, with more than 50 new dancers, and the story of Tracey Vita’s School of Dance began. Even Tracey is surprised that she has taught for over four decades. “I thought that I would do it for a little while until I got a real job,” she explained with a laugh. “But I just love it. I can’t imagine doing anything else.”
The school has been at its current location for about ten years, inhabiting the perfect residential rambler, gutted and fitted with barres, mirrors, and a backyard-turned-parking lot. Tracey had noticed that the home on the corner was for sale and somehow knew it was the right place. But, on the day of closing, the current owner had a heart attack, and it looked like it might not happen. But, even in his weakened condition, he insisted on doing what needed to be done so that Tracey could have the space. Apparently, Tracey had taught their granddaughter to dance and, so, had become part of the extended dance family himself. Now, their great-granddaughter is leaping and turning at the old family home, now known as Tracey Vita’s School of Dance.
The school has always been a family effort, and Tracey’s own family has been her “security blanket,” she claimed, helping with whatever she needs. Her 91-year-old mother, Margaret Vita, still operates the ticket booth at recitals, and her brother John and his wife Tompie have been by her side since the beginning, handling the lights and music so that Tracey could concentrate on the dancing. Even her daughters-in-law, Amy and Alexandra, help backstage as “runners,” making sure everyone gets on stage in the right place and in the right costume; not an easy feat, I am sure. And everyone, including her two boys, Rich and Ray, portrayed different characters whenever needed. It won’t be long before her two grandchildren, Parker, 4 1/2, and Paxton, 1, will be either dancing or helping out, to be sure.
In her first year in business, Tracey invited her dad to join her in a father-and-daughter dance. It was such a beloved memory that Tracy made it a tradition. Now, at four years old, each little girl and her father get to have their dance together on stage, and they share the stage together again on the night of each dancer’s debut dance en pointe. A memory every father and child will cherish for life.
And that is what it is all about for Tracey and her two dance instructors, Elisha Byerly and Breslyn Reiber, whom both danced for Tracey for years before deciding to teach themselves. It’s all about making memories and giving girls a safe place to grow. For Tracey, dance was what helped a shy young girl come out of her shell, which is what eventually made her want to teach. “I always wanted to show people how amazing dance is. I was kind of shy, but when I got on stage and heard the music, I became a different person”, she claims reflectively.
“I figure it gives girls self-confidence to get up in front of people and dance. And it gives them poise. Both are going to help them in life.” Says Tracey. “When they come in, I see a group of girls flustered from home or school, and I can turn the lights down and put on some music, and it brings them back to the center. I just want the girls to have fun and be proud of who they are.”
Tracey recalls another timid little girl, a few years ago, who did not want to be on stage. In fact, at her very first recital, during the first of two shows, she chose to wait backstage rather than dance with her class in front of the waiting friends and family in the audience. But she mustered the courage to go out there for the second show and, afterward, told Ms. Tracey, “That was the funniest day I ever had!”
Tracey Vita’s School of Dance has undergone many changes in the more than 42 years that she has been in business, ranging in size from about 400 students and 12 teachers to the 200 students she can host at her current location. And though she iscurrently at full capacity, she does not have plans to expand. She has already done that and prefers to keep the studio small. She loves that she knows each and every dancer and their family. “It’s a community,” she states, “and it’s not about being big. It’s about teaching the girls and showing them all that they are so special.”
At the end of every dance season, a spring recital is performed, and for the graduating seniors, it is a time of both excitement and tears, as they will not be returning in the fall. In celebration of each graduating dancer, they have a special solo choreographed for their final night on stage with Ms. Tracey’s School of Dance. “They’re my girls, I didn’t have any girls, but these are all my girls, and I miss them all when they are gone,” explains Tracey. “But they come back to visit, and many bring me their children to teach.”
Throughout the years, Tracey has taught so many local dancers that regularly, past students come up to her while she is running around town, at the grocery store, pharmacy, or mall, and ask, “Do you remember me? I used to dance for you.” And Tracey remembers everyone. Although, since young girls change so much, and she has taught so many, she would like to remind you all that a little hint is always helpful. Thinking back, Tracey concludes: “So many years of fun! It has been a good life!”
- For more information on Tracey Vita’s School of Dance, call 941-745 9000 or email: TraceyToeshoes@verizon.net
