The Dancing Canepas
THE DANCING CANEPA FAMILY
The Canepa family residence was located at 704 Ash Street in Baraboo. Canepa's School of Dance began on the third floor in a huge ballroom space. Later the Ash Street first floor and then the Fifth street side first floor were devoted to the school. In the 1960s, the Baraboo school was housed in the basement of the Canepa Tire and Appliance store on Fourth Street. Tony Canepa was a major influence in the initial enrollment of many boys into the school. The school focused on teaching techniques and combined some ballet and tap dancing. It was fun and provided physical fitness. Ballroom dancing was offered at the house on Friday evenings and available to older students and adults. It was important for the youngsters of the day to become social through dancing. Dance students came from a variety of schools and adjoining towns and villages, including Baraboo, Lake Delton, North Freedom, Portage, Rock Springs, and Wisconsin Dells. Neighbors, friends, and family members, including brothers, sisters, and cousins, all took lessons. Tony and Alberta gave adult ballroom dance lessons on Saturday nights at the nearby Warren Hotel. Tony produced the 1956 dance recital and the 1957 A Trip to Paris with support from Alberta and parents and community leaders. In 1958, two shows were held at the Al Ringling Theatre, with the famed Paul Luckey Orchestra on stage for Circus Days and a Christmas show that drew wide appeal in the area. The Canepas provided area youngsters with a lifetime thrill to perform on the historic Al Ringling stage. Tony and Alberta believed that every child deserves a little glamor in their life whether it was a Canepa child or a dance school student; the experience of costumes, makeup, performance excitement, socializing, and the drama of it all was fun!
DANCING CANEPAS IDENTIFIED
The story of the Dancing Canepa family must include travel. They usually rode to engagements in one automobile, and after the eldest children, Chris and Mary, headed off to college, travel with the family became an art form. A request from the older college-age students to head to Florida from spring break drew a positive response from Papa Tony and Momma Alberta, "Yes, we'll all go!"
Pictured: The family is shown on the steps of their 704 Ash Street home and ready for a cross-country trip, which covered 1,600 miles in 10 days. Alberta and Tony took more organization trips from the U.S. Navy, and the family embarked on its first car vacation in the brand-new Oldsmobile sedan purchased from Baraboo dealer and friend Fred Kruse. The dance recitals, like the family, took on a travel theme: Variety '66 and Step Lively covered the United States through dancing.
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The children and their parents were happy to head to sunny Florida. The seating arrangements were explained often as "thirteen people in one car, five in the front, and eight in the back!" Position descriptions were easy to follow, "bottom person was a base, middle person a wedge and little person, a top." Tony drove 100 miles exactly, stopping for restrooms and food and rotation, with skipping rope and Frisbee toss for exercise. Each family member was allowed one suitcase, and all other clothing, pajamas, swimsuits, and costumes were combined in fabric bags that Alberta sewed. The Dancing Canepas traveled across the state for Easter Seals, performing at numerous fund-raisers and benefits. In a Madison television studio, thy taped a public service television commercial on behalf of Easter Seals for the 1971 appeal.
THE DANCING CANEPA FAMILY
The Dancing Canepas rode onto the Al Ringling stage on a bike built for 13. Alberta Canepa sewed the look-alike dresses for herself and her daughters. She also sewed the matching vests and sequined slacks for the boys and their father, Tony Sr. and his sons assembled the bicycle from old parts and tires from his store. The Canepas participated in the annual Circus Days parade in Baraboo during the summer of 1962 on the bicycle.
