Today we’d like to introduce you to Bernadette Torres.
Bernadette, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
My husband, Carlo Di Dio, and I are former Principal Ballet Dancers. We were fortunate to have wonderful international dance careers. Towards the end of our dance careers, we were teaching a great deal of students at various schools, as well as coaching students privately. It was during this time that we started to build a profound student following. Flash forward to March 2020, when the COVID-19 Pandemic hit, students and parents came to us asking for online privates.
From March to July, we were working seven days a week teaching back-to-back private lessons virtually. It was a pretty exhausting yet also fulfilling time, as well as a very profitable time. Around the end of June, beginning of July, students and parents began asking us if we would open our own school. Carlo and I had been asked this several times in the past ten years, but it never felt like it was the right time. Oddly enough, the right time was during the COVID-19 Pandemic. It’s a bit comical, but when it’s time, you feel it! Move forward to September 1, 2020, the Torres Di Dio Ballet Program (TDBP) was born. Looking back, nearly a year later, we are glad we went for it and opened up TDBP. This past year has exceeded our expectations, and we are projecting an even more incredible second season beginning August 3, 2021!
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Actually, I feel our first year was pretty smooth. Even though the pandemic made certain things a challenge, Carlo and I were not afraid of adapting and getting creative. We believe that growth and learning is an unending, lifelong process. It is this mindset, on top of the high intensity of our dancer’s careers, I believe, that has really helped us succeed in our first season of TDBP and during the pandemic. Carlo and I must also give credit to the TDBP families who have been so supportive. We definitely have an awesome team!
Thanks – so what else should our readers know about Torres Di Dio Ballet Program?
At TDBP our Mission is to prepare committed and talented dance students for a professional career by providing an excellent, well-rounded dance education, allowing each student to recognize their greatest individual potential. There is, what we call, a 50/50 rule. The teacher contributes 50, and the student contributes 50. Together we are profound, together we grow. We cannot excel without the other. We are a team.
At TDBP, we focus on the dancer as a whole. Emphasis is placed on technique, artistry, anatomy and physiology, dance history, and the business of dance. Attaining a professional artistic career requires years of consistent dedication, self-motivation, passion, and intangible factors, including physicality, mentality, and expression. With the development of TDBP, we have created a program that meets the needs of students and parents seeking quality education in a more personalized environment.
We know each of our students will take a different path, yet each student will have an impact on the dance world. Some will become professional dancers, choreographers, teachers, and directors, while others will become supporters of the art of dance, allowing for this art form to live on. We need all of these.
Our program is based on the Vaganova method, a system of training that develops the knowledge of how a student’s body should be used in order to dance with expression, grace, precision, coordination, and strength. Additionally, we pull various components of other ballet methods into class to create a well-rounded, versatile students as they mature. We welcome students ages 9-18.
TDBP’s training includes: Classical Ballet Technique, Pointe, Male Technique, Female Variations, Male Variations, Pas De Deux, Contemporary, Conditioning, Pilates, Dance History, Video Analysis, Anatomy, Business for Dancers, Performances, and International Competitions (Students are selected by the directors each year). If you would like more information, visit our website and sign up for a Complimentary Class Assessment!
We love surprises, fun facts and unexpected stories. Is there something you can share that might surprise us?
I am part Mexican and do not like hot sauce… Carlo is Italian and does not like coffee! However, we both go crazy for a good carne asada burrito and glass of Italy wine!
Contact Info:
- Email: info@torresdidioballetprogram.com
- Website: www.torresdidioballetprogram.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torresdidioballetprogram
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TorresDiDioBalletProgram
Image Credits:
Red Leotard and Beige Dress Images by Jennifer Curry Wingrove of Wingrove Studios Photography
