Bliss dancers get ready for annual showcase

VACAVILLE — Fae Salfiti stood outside her Vacaville dance studio, talking, yet listening to what was going on inside.

Her dancers were being drilled by one of her instructors for the “Bliss Life” shows next weekend in Vacaville.

“I’m living my dream,” Salfiti said. “I’m just exhausted.”

Salfiti started her dance company 10 years ago. A year later, the annual showcase came into being. And Salfiti still teaches hip-hop classes through local recreation departments.

The 2½-hour show will feature the routines her dancers learned over the past year. Dance crews from the Bay Area are also part of the event, as well as a 10-year-old rapper from Vallejo.

“It’s a fun, family show for all ages,” Salfiti said. The opening number is a parody of dance movies and shows. The show will offer a wide range of emotions, she said, from “theatrical comedy to deep lyrical content. It will make you want to laugh and cry,” Salfiti said.

Acting is part of all her shows, as Salfiti studied theater.

While Salfiti spends more time behind a desk than she would like, she will dance in the show. She cherishes each time she gets the opportunity to perform, she said.

In the fall, she plans on returning to school to earn her master’s degree in fine arts.

“Teachers are never done learning,” she said.

Fairfield resident Keeara Brown has danced with Salfiti for six years and is now a member of the Bliss Urban Arts Center staff. Her passion for the art began in middle school.

Brown is pursuing a career in fashion, with the goal of designing dance wear.

She’s learned discipline in dance from Salfiti. And to take risks. Both she has put to use in her life, Brown said.

Xavier Bell, an Armijo High School freshman, has been dancing with Salfiti for four years, after his mother suggested he audition for the company.

“It’s fun. It’s something I like the more I do it and it’s always a challenge,” he said.

He serves as assistant choreographer to Dope Dynamics, a company within Bliss that’s comprised of about a dozen males, ages 10-18. Bell sees himself dancing professionally.

Salfiti has taught him to be confident and to not give up on a dream, he said.

There will be about 130 Bliss Dancers, ranging from age 7 to grandmothers, in the show. When the performances are done, the dance company gears up for competitions and will head off to Monsters of Hip Hop in March in Santa Clara.

Reach Amy Maginnis-Honey at 427-6957 or amaginnis@dailyrepublic.net. Follow her on Twitter at www.twitter.com/amaginnisdr.

“Bliss Life”

• 7:30 p.m. Feb. 8, 2:30 and 7:30 p.m. Feb. 9
• Vacaville Performing Arts Theatre, 1010 Ulatis Drive
• 469-4013
• www.vpat.net

Amy Maginnis-Honey

Amy Maginnis-Honey joined the staff of the Daily Republic in 1980. She’ll tell you she was only 3 at the time. Over the past three decades she’s done a variety of jobs in the newsroom. Today, she covers arts and entertainment and writes for the Living and news pages.

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