{"id":364894,"date":"2026-08-07T02:07:01","date_gmt":"2026-08-07T02:07:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/364894\/"},"modified":"2026-08-07T02:07:01","modified_gmt":"2026-08-07T02:07:01","slug":"former-student-returns-to-teach-free-tampa-dance-program-for-local-youth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/364894\/","title":{"rendered":"Former student returns to teach free Tampa dance program for local youth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Tampa \"Tampa Tampa dance program offered for free<\/a> <\/p>\n

Together, the Tampa City Ballet and the Prodigy Cultural Arts program are offering free summer dance classes for University Area kids. FOX 13’s Mark Wilson reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n

TAMPA, Fla. – A partnership between Tampa City Ballet and the Prodigy Cultural Arts Program offers free summer dance classes for University Area children.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Tampa City Ballet dance program <\/p>\n

What we know:<\/p>\n

The University Area Community Development Corporation (CDC)<\/a> has been funding the Prodigy Cultural Arts Program for over 20 years. The free classes for five to 17-year-olds range from dance, music, art and theater.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“It’s really an outlet for them to come, get connection to their peers, get instruction from professional instructors,” University Area CDC CEO Erica Moody said. “We also infuse life skills through the programs, so they’re learning conflict resolution, problem-solving and everything that comes with putting on a production.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Fifteen kids are taking part in two-week free ballet and contemporary dance classes, which end with a special showcase.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n

Familiar face in a familiar place\u00a0 <\/p>\n

The backstory:<\/p>\n

Contemporary dance instructor Joey Bell loves watching the progress of the kids, as they build their routine for the showcase.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\" <\/p>\n

“The type of creativity that you can have can spark the kids’ minds,” Bell said.\u00a0 “Like, oh, this is a free expression-type dance or like I can be myself now. I can move how I want to move.”<\/p>\n

Bell speaks from experience. The 19-year-old was once in their shoes, taking Prodigy ballet classes for the first time nine years ago.\u00a0<\/p>\n

“When I just heard the word dance, that just caught my attention, caught my lightbulb,” Bell said. “I just love dancing. I decided to take on that opportunity.”<\/p>\n

One opportunity led to another, when members of Tampa City Ballet took notice of Bell’s talent and passion. The company offered him a full-ride scholarship to train with the company. He’s the youngest trainee with TCB.\u00a0<\/p>\n

An ideal mentor <\/p>\n

What they’re saying:<\/p>\n

“When you see yourself in your instructor, and it’s representative of the community and the people that you serve, that’s such a powerful thing,” Moody said. “The kids that come here and see Joey; they are Joey.”<\/p>\n

The Source: The information in this story was gathered from the University Area Community Development Corporation, which provided program details and executive quotes, as well as Tampa City Ballet instructor Joey Bell.\u00a0<\/p>\n

What’s Right with Tampa Bay<\/a> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Tampa dance program offered for free Together, the Tampa City Ballet and the Prodigy Cultural Arts program are…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":364895,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[115,405,135,137,136,3970],"class_list":["post-364894","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-news","tag-series","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news","tag-whats-right-with-tampa-bay"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364894","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=364894"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/364894\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/364895"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=364894"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=364894"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=364894"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}