In the Press

It Started with a tap-dancing boxer
By Scott De Laruelle, News Republic, August 2006

When you have 11 children, you need to find something constructive for them to do. For the late Tony and Alberta Canepa, that something was dancing. More than a half-century later, the Canepas are still dancing, and teaching others to enjoy their family's passion.

Jane Canepa, sibling number five, has documented the history of the "Dancing Canepas" in her new book, "The Canepa School of Dance."

"We are like the Ringlings, only we tap dance," Canepa said.

It all started in the 1950s, when her father Tony, an amateur boxer in Madison, decided tap dancing would help his footwork after watching a dancer perform at a local YMCA. When he moved to Baraboo to take over a Goodyear tire franchise, he was a mystery tap-dancer at the Sauk Country Fair one year.

"He did a tap dance in a sailor suit, and people had to guess who he was," Canepa said. "People told him, 'If you can dance like that, you should teach my children.'"

Alberta, who grew up on the east side of Madison, got into dance after she won dance lessons as a third-grader. She and Tony were true partners, moving as one when they danced, Canepa said.

"Together they were like Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers," Canepa said. "People remember them to this day with how they were able to dance."

Tony decided if he was going to teach the neighbor kids how to dance, he might as well educate his own sizable clan, starting the family tradition carried on today in Colorado and Wisconsin.

"My mother felt dancing afforded us an opportunity we would not otherwise have in a large family," Canepa said. "We would have done things that were more fun, like playing with friends, but it was important to them. I'm sure we complained about it but we realize the benefit of it."

The family appeared on Madison's channel 27 for a few years with their live, half-hour dancing school show every other Saturday. Before Howdy Doody, no less.

"TV was in its infancy then, and they needed things to fill the time slots," Canepa said. "One time I was pretty sick and couldn't dance and was at home with a baby-sitter and watched everyone tap dance. It was interesting to watch them all perform on TV without me."

Teaching the masses

Canepa, who works these days as a public relations practitioner, said she got into writing several years ago when she was putting together archives for the school's 25th annual recital.

"We were pretty good at keeping every recital, and had a program book with photographs in the early years," Canepa said. "It was then we made some serious effort to keep the archives in one spot and preserve them."

When the dance company celebrated their 50th anniversary recently, she decided to give a book to try. She said the process took about eight months to complete.

"It brought back tons of memories," Canepa said. "A lot of people in town were involved, and I ended up meeting with them, bringing pictures to them and getting their input. It was great to get their stories."

Carol Hulterstrum of Baraboo was the Canepa children's piano teacher back in 1955, and when she heard the family needed some help with their first recital, she was happy to help.

"Alberta was seven months' pregnant for heaven's sakes, so I ended up being the chairman of the first recital," Hulterstrum said. "It was a real experience. I just adored the Canepa family. They were real fun to work with."

The book documents the family, from their early roots to their current multi-state dance studios.

"I'm pretty proud of it," Canepa said. "People can actually read something they were a part of. It's a wonderful thing to do as a legacy for my parents and siblings."

Bertie takes over family business

Bertie Canepa Reifsteck has been up the family mantle of dancing, teaching in Baraboo and Lake Delton during the warmer months and in Colorado during the winter. A dancer since the age of 4 and a teacher for the past 27 years, she said she enjoys spreading her passion for dancing to others, especially children.

"I had always been mom's number one choreographer," Reifsteck said. "Something I grew up with and I was good at it. there is always something at the last minute, and it was something I could do easily."

After her mother decided to give up the dance class business, Reifsteck said she could not find anyone else she trusted to keep the family business going.

"You have to love kids, hear music and (be able to) hear music choreographed for each age," Reifsteck said.

Reifsteck moved back to Colorado, where she had been teaching dance. There she met her future husband, who was from Wisconsin Dells, and soon she began returning home during summers.

"Every time I came back I stayed at mom's, people would call up (and ask), 'Can you teach me?'" Reifsteck said.

Before long she was teaching 400 students and filling 1,500-seat theaters for recitals. Today, she has 180 students from all across Sauk Country, many of whom will perform at the annual "Happy Feet" recitals later this month at the Al. Ringling Theatre. The recitals are the culmination of the nine-week summer sessions, featuring everything from basic tap, ballroom and ballet to jazz and hip-hop. For information call Reifsteck at (608) 963-4503.

"What is a Canepa" film, Christopher Coppola's 2008 PAH Fest

CBS News 2006 News Segment, The Dancing Canepas - YouTube