Carmelina Cafaro took her first “dance steps” at three while growing up in Vallo della Lucania, Salerno, Italy.
She earned a diploma in dance from her hometown dance studio, specialising in academic ballet, modern, jazz and hip hop.
She didn’t stop there.
All of the training she received in Italy led her to eventually open her own studio – Melina’s Attitude School of Dance in Pardeesville, Pennsylvania, United States.
Carfaro began dancing competitively at a young age and made it to the finals of the Italian television competition show, Trofeo Stefania Rotolo.
After receiving her diploma and several dance scholarships, she began teaching dance while still working at her parents’ beach club and restaurant and attending college.
Once she earned her bachelor’s degree in education, she decided she wanted to make the trek across the Atlantic to Hazleton in Pennsylvania where her mother’s side of the family lives and owns businesses.
“I was that lucky Italian dancer who was able to move to the US and live her dream,” she said.
Stepping into confidence
After moving to the US in 2016, she continued teaching dance, attended dance workshops in New York City, continued her education and became an American citizen in 2019.
“With a lot of fear – but even more determination – I opened my own dance studio, Melina’s Attitude School of Dance in June 2023,” she said.
Cafaro teaches an array of dance styles to around 50 students. Ballet, lyrical, contemporary, technique, jazz, acro/gymnastics, hip hop and new this year, tap, are some of the popular classes.
She credits her staff members and husband, Gianluca, with making so much of this success possible.
A programme she offers that she is very proud of is dance therapy. She said the idea came to her when she first opened the studio.
“My experience working at the Helping Hand Society truly changed my life,” she explained.
“I had the privilege of teaching both typically developing children and children with special needs and I learned so much from every one of them. I wanted to create an opportunity for children on the autism spectrum to experience the joy of dance, perform on a stage, have fun, relax through music and simply be themselves.”
The classes are 40 minutes long and involve dancing to music while incorporating tools such as trampolines, balls, blocks, tunnels and other sensory stimuli to help keep the kids engaged and comfortable.
Biggest supporters
One of the biggest reasons she wanted to begin these classes was actually – the parents.
“Every parent deserves the opportunity to sit in an audience and watch their child perform on stage,” she said.
“There are very few opportunities like this in our area for children with special needs, and I wanted to help change that, even if only in a small way.”
Last year, Cafaro had five children enrolled in the programme, her first year just two. She hopes to welcome more families this year and have the classes continue to grow.
“This programme deserves to grow because these children deserve the same opportunities as everyone else,” she added.
“We don’t hope for anything extraordinary – we already receive the greatest reward every time those children walk back into the studio smiling and excited to dance again.”
Cafaro’s students perform an annual recital each May along with several community events including the Italian Festival at Community Park as well as their own Christmas performance.
The studio is currently accepting registrations for all dance classes, with dance therapy set to resume in September.
“At Melina’s Attitude School of Dance, we are a professional dance studio, but above all, we believe that everyone can dance,” she added. “Limits exist only in the eyes of those who choose to see them.” – Standard-Speaker/Tribune News Service
