by Linda Lazar Curatolo, Contributing Writer
Alexis DeCapua, an MTD graduate, is transforming dance into success. Among other things, she became director of the OU Dance Team, a studio owner, a consultant, and a member of the Detroit Pistons Dance Team.
Alexis talked about becoming a member of a pro sports team. “The audition process was rigorous. There was a dance component as well as a fitness component, and an interview process and an event where we went out in the community to see how we interacted with people. It was a lot of hard work and a lot of time, but performing in front of that many people – up to 20,000 at a time – is pretty exhilarating."
When the team embarked on an NBA tour, which included a stop in Puerto Rico, Alexis had to call on more than her skills as a dancer and a choreographer. “We were supposed to teach a dance clinic, and ten minutes before I’m like, ‘Wait a minute, we don’t speak their language. How are we supposed to teach this clinic?’ We figured out a way to take some of the choreography I had done, and show it to the kids and have them follow along. It reminded me how dance can be universal, because we shared this whole hour together of pure dancing, not even talking to each other, but just laughing and smiling."
Her experience with the Pistons also piqued Alexis’ interest in the fitness aspect of dance. She received her certification as a personal trainer from the National Academy of Sports Medicine, is certified in Zumba Fitness, and teaches Stott Pilates performance training. She works with Team Fit, an outreach organization that does fitness classes and weight loss clinics all over Michigan. In December, Alexis will receive her MAEd from Michigan State University, with an emphasis on sports, coaching and leadership.
Alexis was only 15 when she began teaching dance, but she turned down the opportunity to teach dance at OU when first asked. “They asked me to teach some ballet courses when I was right out of college, but I felt that the age gap was too close.” After teaching at numerous studios, coaching, and even starting Envision Dance studio in Shelby Township in 2006, Alexis eventually became a guest lecturer for the OU dance program in 2008.
The sports aspect of Alexis’ career trajectory found her doing choreography for many types of venues, but when asked what the most rewarding piece she ever set was, Alexis quickly chose an untitled piece that she did while in college. “It was about women who are physically abused. When we presented that piece at some different concerts, and it was adjudicated at the American College Dance Festival, there was a lot of positive feedback from people that had that experience and saw a new positive spin to it. It was difficult to be sensitive about the subject matter. It was about my mother. For her, that was a really special moment because she hadn’t really seen how I was going to make an impact in all these things I was doing with dance, and I think she kind of saw at that moment how I could.”
Alexis choreography awards include MTD's Maggie Allesee Dance Award for Outstanding Achievement in Choreogaphy (2005); National Dance Alliance - Best Use of Theme (2008); National Choreography Award (2006); Innovative Choreography Award (2005) (2004); Starpower Talent - National Choreography Award (2004); and Universal Dance Association - Most Valuable Coach (2008). Alexis’ dancers have won National Championship titles in nearly every dance team organization in the country.
Although Alexis has had success in choreography and performance she no longer places them at the top of her list of priorities. “Teaching is always going to be my number one in some capacity. I would say that fitness training is second because I’m trying now to expand into the younger generation, too, just because obesity is such an epidemic. Then I would say choreography and then performing.”
Alexis could have had her pick. Beyond being a member of the Pistons Dance Team, Alexis has danced for the MGM Casino in Detroit, MoreDances Contemporary Dance Company, and as a guest artist for the Eisenhower Dance Ensemble. Her very first professional dance experience was a production of
Aida with Michigan Opera Theatre in 2006. “That was my first paid dance job. Dancing at the Opera House was pretty awesome,” said Alexis.
About opening her own studio, Alexis said, “I started [Envision] because I had been working for larger studios and felt like it wasn’t personalized enough. I had so many students in a given week, half of them I didn’t even know their names. My thing was to have more individualized attention with students who really wanted to do something with dance. I do mostly one-on-one and train them fitness-wise as well as from a dance perspective, because the athleticism is paramount.”
“What dance has done for me, the influence in my life that I don’t know that I would have gotten if I would have chosen other pathways, is how to be a, quote, ‘beautiful woman’ in society, but still be respected. Sometimes dancers can be objectified. A lot of the kids I’m working with now are college age, and the women are sort of in that transition into the workforce. I talk to them a lot about how to present themselves in social situations and how to communicate what you want to say and not shy away and just let people talk over you.” Asked if it was difficult to maintain that attitude while being a Pistons' dancer Alexis said, “I chose not to do the team this year because they’re going in a direction that doesn’t fit for me as an older woman. Fortunately, when I was on the team we were under a director that had very strong opinions on how we should be seen and how to present ourselves in the community.”
The mentor whom Alexis feels shaped her the most was Laurie Eisenhower. “She is a very consistent person just in terms of her work ethic, what she puts out there, who she is as a teacher. I mean she was 100 percent on all the time. I have a ton of respect for her as a person and as a teacher and a choreographer and as a business owner.” Laurie Eisenhower offered Alexis the position of company manager for Eisenhower Dance Ensemble. “I did that for a few years which was an amazing experience I wouldn’t have had, had I not known her and gone through the department.”
Alexis feels very fortunate to be employed with Oakland University and cites the many resources available, both in Athletics and in Music, Theatre and Dance. “Just the amount of concerts I am exposed to and the people I work with, just to be able to brainstorm ideas off of other faculty members is something I wouldn’t get working in a cubicle by myself. [Athletics] has trainers over there that I work with all the time. If I get injured or something they’re there to help.”
Alexis can remember the moment she knew that she and dance were meant for each other. “I think my last year here, I had gotten a couple of different awards from the department, and in my senior exit interview the feedback that I got from my professors really kind of cemented it for me, ‘Okay, full speed ahead.’”
Photo: Alexis with the OU Dance Team.