Today we’d like to introduce you to Marianela (Malita) Belloso Pinto.
Marianela, please share your story with us. How did you get to where you are today?
I was born in Caracas, Venezuela, and I started dancing flamenco with the largest flamenco dance academy in Caracas when I was six years old. I continued my flamenco dance studies and studies in tap and other dance disciplines throughout my childhood and early adulthood, and, after graduating from college and working in Caracas as a certified school teacher, moved to the United States in 2000. That same year, I started the flamenco performance group, Caló Gitano.
I continued to work as a school teacher, and I traveled to Spain to get my Master’s Degree in Spanish Culture and History, but I never lost my passion for dancing. So, I joined a professional salsa dancing performance team in Atlanta and continued to perform flamenco as well. After taking on a few flamenco students as a side project outside of my day job, my flamenco academy started growing to the point where I had to make a decision about whether I would continue to teach elementary school full time or dedicate my time to teaching and performing flamenco. I chose flamenco, and, by 2010, my academy had grown to become the largest flamenco academy in Georgia — with students of all ages and all skill levels — and I was able to purchase my own dance studio dedicated to fitness, ballet, and flamenco — Caló Dance Studio.
Since that time, I have expanded the reach of the studio by adding a second location in Alpharetta that is run by my sister and fellow flamenco dancer, Cara, and I have partnered with other artists and musicians to create Caló Theatre Company — which is a group dedicated to creating original and theatrical flamenco musical productions. Some of those shows include “Raíces (Roots): A Flamenco Journey,” “Sueños Andaluces (Andalusian Dreams),” “Wonderland” (a flamenco musical adaptation of Lewis Carroll’s “Alice: Through the Looking Glass”), and an original flamenco holiday musical, “Once Upon a Christmas in Olelucía.”
As things continued to progress with the studio, I began hosting flamenco workshops by professional flamenco dancers such as Daniela Tugues and Miguel Vargas, and I started traveling to Spain every year to study with Lydia Cabello, Miguel Vargas, and other flamenco masters. Through a partnership with Miguel Vargas, Lydia Cabello, and their flamenco dance studios in Spain, in August of 2016 I was proud to be able to travel to Spain with sixteen of my Atlanta flamenco students for two weeks of exclusive flamenco instruction from these two flamenco professionals in Seville and Cadiz. I hope to continue to bring experiences like these to my students to continue to spread the joy of flamenco to as many people as possible!
I am so proud of everything that my academy has been able to accomplish, and I am truly excited about the future! I am so glad that I took the risk of starting my own flamenco academy and dance studio, because now I have the best job in the world, and I get to do what I love to do every day by simply sharing my passion for dance with the world.
We’re always bombarded by how great it is to pursue your passion, etc – but we’ve spoken with enough people to know that it’s not always easy. Overall, would you say things have been easy for you?
It hasn’t always been easy. There were times when I wasn’t sure whether I should have left the security of my day job as a school teacher to start my own flamenco dance company. And, as a first time business owner, there was a huge learning curve when it came to figuring out how, exactly, to open and sustain a full time dance business. Luckily, I had the full support of my family every step of the way. I didn’t have to do any of this alone. My family was always there to make sure that I spent less time worrying about “if” things were going to work and a lot more time focusing on “how” I would make things work. They made sure that I never lost faith in me or my vision for making this flamenco academy everything that I dreamed it would be.
So, as you know, we’re impressed with Caló Gitano Flamenco Dance Company and Academy/Caló Dance Studio – tell our readers more, for example what you’re most proud of as a company and what sets you apart from others.
Caló Gitano specializes in flamenco dance instruction for children and adults of all skill levels. Our Atlanta dance studio, Caló Dance Studio, is the only dance studio in Atlanta specifically designed by and for flamenco dancers, with a sprung dance floor and Marley floor coverings to absorb the impact from flamenco dance shoes. We also offer ballet classes for children and adults, Latin dance instruction (salsa, merengue, cha cha cha, etc.), and fitness classes. Our flamenco performance team offers live shows (in English or Spanish) with guitar, singing, percussion, and dancing for parties, restaurants, weddings, schools, and private or other special events. Because I am a certified school teacher in addition to being a flamenco dancer, my company’s classes and presentations have become known for their interactive, educational, energetic, and, most of all, fun nature! Our authentic flamenco performances are designed to transport our audiences straight into the cultural heart of Spain, and I work every day to bring the same passion and energy that I bring to my performances to my classes.
I am most proud of the fact that, as my company has continued to grow, it has continued to feel like a growing family. I even tell people all the time that Caló Gitano Dance Academy is more than a community of dancers and artists — we are a growing family! I started this company with my family, and every student who comes to me is like a new member of that family. So, I want to continue that feeling of family as we continue to grow, because that feeling has been the key to us growing all along.
The thing that sets us apart from others is that we continue to offer flamenco in a personalized way to all of our students while also being able to offer it on a scale that no one else can in Atlanta. With a professional dancer at the helm of our company who is also a certified professional teacher, we have never lost sight of what it takes to make our students, and our professional performances, successful. We started out small, but, by constantly focusing on growing our flamenco and artistic family in a positive way, we know that we have made a huge impact on the flamenco community in Atlanta and beyond. We will continue to do our best to keep this flamenco family growing and thriving!
So, what’s next? Any big plans?
I plan to continue to expand upon everything that my dance academy has been doing to continue to bring flamenco to as many people as possible! We are continuing our partnerships with flamenco academies in Spain, and we will be going back to Spain in the coming year with hopefully even more dancers from our academy than the sixteen who went with me to study flamenco there on our last trip. We will also continue to host professional flamenco dancers from around the world at our studio, and we are already in the process of putting together a flamenco workshop and concert for this coming September at our Atlanta studio with Lydia Cabello from Spain. We have lots of events in the works, and lots of surprises in store for our students and the community, which makes me excited for all of the possibilities for our future! With everything that we want to do, I can see that there’s really no limit to how far we can go!
Contact Info:
- Address: Caló Dance Studio
1963 Hosea L. Williams Dr.
#R102
Atlanta, GA 30317 - Website: www.calodancestudio.com and www.calogitano.com
- Phone: 404.966.1347
- Email: calogitano@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Cal%C3%B3-Gitano-Flamenco-Dance-Company-and-Academy-107659049289671/?ref=aymt_homepage_panel
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/CaloGitano
Image Credit:
Eugenio Beltrán, Erik Voss
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