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FPO
The Espositos last year published a scrapbook, which provides glimpses of the dance community in Utica throughout the years. Titled “Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick,” it’s a reference to the rhythm of dance and a basic step in Foxtrot.
in-step
children, Luke and Marla, who both live on the West Coast. Luke is a neuroscientist and researcher in Seattle. Marla runs a network of laser spas in Los Angeles. Through her contacts, she has arranged VIP passes to her parents’ favorite TV show, “Dancing With the Stars.” Shortly after their marriage, Luca began giving dance lessons part time at Mohawk Valley Community College. He felt lost without his partner on the dance floor and asked college officials if they allow Gina join him in teaching. They agreed. The Espositos have been giving classes regularly at Mohawk Valley Community College in Utica and its Rome campus for so long that they’re now welcoming second generations of families. They also teach dance at The Good News Center in north Utica, a place that coincidentally provides marriage and family counseling. Since dance melds the art of give-and-take and harmony, the Good News Center provides an ideal setting, they said. The couple often takes to the road throughout Central New York. They have held classes at the United Academy of Dance and the Kallet Civic Center in Oneida. They taught dancing as an extracurricular activity to students at Proctor High School and at Hamilton College. They frequently participate in benefits for charity, including The Abraham House (which cares for terminally-ill patients) and the House of the Good Shepherd (for troubled youth) in Utica. After decades of teaching dance, Gina and Luca began to notice how their instruction had a physical and emotional impact on students. They compiled informal “case studies,” citing improvements to the students’ wellbeing. Gina received permission from her students to document their stories in a scrapbook. That scrapbook, which also provides glimpses of the dance community in Utica throughout the years, was published in 2012. It’s titled “Slow, Slow, Quick, Quick,” February / March 2013 - 55 PLUS
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