DANCE UNLIMITED

About Us

Lisa Walsh owns and operates Dance Unlimited. She has a very wide range of dancing and teaching experience. She has studied dance since childhood, with early training at her mother's ballet studio in Los Angeles. Afterwards, she trained with Francine Kessler of the San Francisco Ballet and with the Danny Daniels Studio in Santa Monica. Lisa pursued a special interest in rhythm tap, studying extensively as a protégé under Bill Robinson, Eddie Brown, Frances Healy and Babs Rifkin. Stage performances include a leading role in Buddy Ebsen's "Cabaret DaDa", appearances with the International Hoofer's Club, and choreography/production with the Melanie Ray Dance Company in Los Angeles. Lisa's dedication to dance has provided her with over 20 years of experience in teaching, choreographing and performing. Her dance interests include Jazz, Ballet, and Tap and she received a BA in dance at UCLA. She opened Dance Unlimited 14 years ago and it’s still running strong today.

Kaita Lepore currently is with the Sonneblauma Dancsz Theater of Santa Barbara. Growing up in Rochester, MN she started in gymnastics early on but switched to dance after a minor injury. After high school, she received dual bachelor's degrees in Dance and Psychology from the University of Wisconsin at Stevens Point. She has studied numerous forms of dance in a variety of of places including Minnesota, Washington DC, Virginia (Arlington Center Dance Company), Maryland (American Dance Institute), Wisconsin and NYC (American College Dance Festival). Her motto is "Have body, will fly!"

Mariano Silva teaches Afro Brazilian and Capoeira. Mariano has been dancing his whole life. “I am from Brazil and dance is something you grow up knowing,” says Mariano. He has taught Afro Brazilian and Capoeira for nine years and has found it to be a tool that brings happiness to peoples lives. Mariano says, “I like to teach dance to keep the history of my ancestors alive. I like to keep alive the African traditions. I use the dance to educate people. I like to dance because it makes me happy. Half to keep alive the history of my ancestors and half because I learn so much and I teach a lot and see people react in many, many different ways.” Capoeira is an ancient marital art created 450 years ago in Brazil by African slaves. It develops mental balance, and combines self defense, music and a profound sense of art all at once. Afro-Brazilian is one of the many kinds of dance from Brazil. The dancing he teaches tells a story says Mariano, “All the movements we do in the African dance represent an African god or represent an African collecting beans, or working in the field, picking sugar cane. Especially after the Africans came to Brazil, they developed many, many kinds of dancing.”

Carrie Yamate is very excited to join the Dance Unlimited team. She has been teaching dance for over 25 years with her specialties being ballet/pointe and tap. Her career began in Orange County where she was a Principle dancer with a regional ballet company for 5 years. As demanding as the ballet schedule was, she refused to give up her tap and jazz training and firmly believes in training the well-rounded dancer. She taught for the Orange County Dance Center for over 12 years, as well as choreographed for local productions as much as possible. In 2000, she made the move to the Central Coast to be closer to family. Carrie taught for several studios as well as Cal Poly and American Dance of SLO, then became co-owner of The Studio of Performing Arts in Arroyo Grande in 2007. Several of her students are now pursuing professional careers in the arts. Last summer she made the move to Solvang in order to take advantage of a great job opportunity in Santa Barbara. Carrie is looking forward to getting to know the students at Dance Unlimited and feels there is nothing more rewarding then helping students reach their goals and dreams. Dance has been a way of life for her and she is excited to share her passion with her students.

She just keeps on dancin’
By Jeff Jones, Goleta Valley Voice Staff Reporter 11/18/2005

Taking advantage of the first holiday weekend in November, some area families headed for the great outdoors of Mammoth, Lake Tahoe and Big Bear resorts, but others stayed home and danced. While overnight temperatures plummeted to below freezing in the distant mountain valleys, the steady beat of hip-hop music heated up the evenings for many teens that stayed in Goleta. Twenty-something instructor Danny Rojo led the charge for one exuberant youth group, as owner Lisa Walsh hit on the high and low notes of running the popular Dance Unlimited studio on Hollister near Patterson. Though financial matters sometimes hang over her like a snow-laden cliff, Walsh says she’ll keep putting in 60-plus-hour weeks because she loves the grind. “I work six days a week and have really long hours,” she said, waving to Danny and his bouncing contingent of teenage dancers. “As the director here, I have to keep it going.” “Dance isn’t a business people go into to make money,” Walsh added. “They go into it because of the creative aspect. Our basic goal is to celebrate life and dance. And this is a terrific dance community.” Walsh started dancing about the time she started walking. Her mother owned a studio in Santa Monica, and Walsh went on to perform amid the lights of nearby Hollywood. Now her name may or not be familiar in showbiz circles, but Walsh is well known locally. She started teaching dance at the Goleta Valley Community Center 15 years ago. After five years there, Walsh opened up Dance Unlimited. Since that time, the studio has grown in prestige, quality and quantity. Some days, classes go nonstop from nine in the morning until nine at night. Students learn the moves in beginning, intermediate and classical ballet; tap, jazz and Afro-Brazilian dances; Capoeria, evolved from a form of Brazilian martial arts; Nia, which embraces Western dance modalities, the martial arts and yoga; and even cardio hip-hop. Add in acoustic and electric guitar sessions on Sundays, taught by her son Sean Walsh, and Mariano Silva’s “Brazilian Drumming,” it’s no wonder Walsh stays as fit as she was in her Hollywood heyday. And she’s still all smiles. With her blonde hair tied back in a ponytail, Walsh is ready to take over any class at the drop of a hat. Students may view her as a mother figure, or favorite daughter — all in the same day at Dance Unlimited. “The students start at age three and go until 99,” Walsh said with a laugh, tapping a black ballet slipper on the floor in the bay-windowed lobby near the Foot Locker. “Two is a little young to start. But being a grandmother isn’t too late. I have a whole class of them.” As it is, with eight instructors and hundreds of students from all over the South Coast, Walsh teaches numerous classes to keep overhead costs down. The studio remains fiscally vibrant, Walsh doesn’t have to hire more instructors, and area families and individuals save in the long run, she says. But some days are longer than others. “I’m also here so much because I have to nurture the business,” she added. “But everyone else is working as hard as they can in this community, and we’re all lucky to live here. So it’s hard to raise tuition.” Similar to other business owners, Walsh must contend with writing large rent checks month in and month out. She also has to balance costs with what families and individual dancers can afford. Otherwise the curtain can come down permanently. “The community dance studios are struggling because of high rental costs,” she said. “We have mostly families and children. I’ve seen many go out of business.” Walsh admitted she’s thought about applying for nonprofit status. Even then, roping in grants and constantly fundraising is a tough way to go. “Dance often slips through the cracks as far as nonprofit support,” she said. “But we need the help as much as music and other creative forms.” Because other studios have had to close, Walsh was asked how she’s been able to sustain a successful working environment for 11 years. “I just work harder,” she said. “I add classes for myself to teach, so I don’t have to add instructors. I’ll do it until I can’t do it anymore.” In the meantime, look for Dance Unlimited performances at junior highs and high schools, retirement communities and even a mall next month. Students will be out in force at La Cumbre Plaza on Sunday, Dec. 11 at 3 p.m. doing “Wintercracker,” — a combination of excerpts from the Nutcracker with jazz, tap and hip-hop routines. And last Friday night, the hip-hoppers and Danny Rojo were going strong long after the stars filled a mid-November Good Land sky. “Look at the faces of all these kids coming in and out, and smiling,” Walsh said at the end of the tour. “And they have a safe place to go on a weekend night.” For information on classes, or scheduled public recitals for the holidays, call Dance Unlimited at 681-0684.