Q & A with Gina Nespoli, Owner of Creative Heart Dance Studio and Summer Camp

What year did your camp start?
I started the camp in 2015.
How and why did you get into the business?
I got into this business to teach and share my creativity with passion and love.
What is a typical daily schedule for a camper?
A typical day involves Jazz dance, snack, Acro, lunch, Hip Hop, games, Contemporary, Arts and Crafts and Dance Games.
What makes your camp special?
Our camp is very special as everyone is part of our family. You may come in knowing no one but will go home with at least 10 friends! Our teachers are fun and loving!
What are the camp hours and do you offer before/after care?
Camp hours are 9:00-4:00 and we have before and after care.
Describe your training and background and your staff’s training and background.
Gina Nespoli (Artistic Director) received her dance education from the University of Houston in 1998. She has been a performer and choreographer for over 30 years with a strong focus in Modern Dance. Her training is centered on the Cunningham Technique, the Lester Horton Technique and the Alvin Ailey Technique. In addition, she studied with Frank Hatchett at the Broadway Dance Center in NY, New York and with the Houston Ballet Academy in Houston, Texas. Her professional experience includes teaching dance at Broward College, Memorial Middle School (Houston, TX) where she founded the dance program, Delray Beach Playhouse, and Lake Worth Playhouse. Gina is best known for her musicality and intricate choreography.

Pattie Obey is a committed professional bringing her experience, creativity, passion, and humor to the teaching profession. A Chicago native and the daughter of a dancer, Pattie began her professional career touring internationally with Gus Giordano’s Jazz Dance Chicago. Her performance credits both in the USA and abroad includes Broadway musicals, films and television. Her personal style is greatly influenced by her mentor Gus Giordano, former Hubbard Street artistic director Lou Conte, jazz master Matt Mattox and her own elegant and powerful femininity. Pattie credits her extensive classical background to her training with ex-Royal ballet soloists Richard Ellis and Christine DuBoulay. Currently, Obey makes her home in Delray Beach, Florida after living in Europe for 28 years. She has been a guest teacher at Harid Conservatory and on faculty at Boca Ballet Theatre in Boca Raton, Florida. She has also mentored for “1st Step” an outreach program serving the Boca Raton community.
Pattie has been on the faculty of numerous dance festivals in Germany, Austria, Finland and Mexico. She is a master teacher for both Dance Educators of America and Dance Masters of America. For 8 years she has been a guest artist at the University of Performing Arts in Tilburg, The Netherlands.
Pattie has taught for colleges, universities, dance companies and eminent dance studios in 37 states and 16 countries.
She has choreographed works for LaJazDanz, Ormao Dance Company, Spectrum Dance Theatre, Houston Met Dance, Jazz Dance Theatre, Boca Ballet Theatre, Illusionists’ Ted and Marion Outerbridge, The Playhouse Dance Company at Point Park University and Pori Dance Company in Pori, Finland to name a few.
Dance Magazine proclaims Obey as being “Dance Teacher Extraordinaire”. And most recently Dance Studio Life Magazine as “The Leading Lady in Jazz”
In 1992, she was the first woman to teach at the Jazz Dance World Congress and has been on the roster of master teachers ever since.
She is also the recipient of the “2000 Jazz Dance World Congress Award” in recognition of her considerable contribution to the world of jazz dance. “My dedication and passion for jazz dance continues to inspire young dancers in this art form, like how my mentor Gus Giordano inspired me.”
Kara Schwarz received her BFA in Theater at FAU and has been dancing since the age of 5. Her studies include Tap, Jazz, Modern, Acro, and Character dance with a main focus of Ballet and Pointe. At 8 years old, she continued her training under the Royal Academy of Dance at Giselle’s Dance Studio where she mastered her ballet training through level 7. (RAD) is a UK-based examination board specializing in dance education and training, with an emphasis on classical ballet. Over the years, Kara has participated in many dance competitions and workshops. Her love of dance has brought her into the wonderful journey of teaching.

What do you think is your biggest challenge with the business?
The biggest challenge is advertising and hoping that all parents will take the time to look at our website and facebook posts and know that we will teach their child with much love!
What do you want the community to know about you?
Many parents and people I talk to in the industry frequently will hear me say “Dance is taught last at my studio”… well, it is. These children first learn respect, humility, thankfulness, discipline, etiquette, kindness, perseverance, determination, and the ability to grow in the face of constructive criticism. They are taught to win with grace and lose with dignity. Backstage, they are kind to each other, help each other, help other studios and wish them good luck, smile, laugh, cheer each other on, say please and thank you and they are always respectful of their teachers. THIS IS EXCELLENCE! I am proud to say I am the owner of Creative Heart Dance Studio and I am more proud to walk with my wonderful dancers, parents, and teachers who represent my mission.