Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Patrick Notaro. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Patrick, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Did you always know you wanted to pursue a creative or artistic career? When did you first know?

I had just completed my first year of college not really knowing what I wanted to major in. I went to NYC and saw West Side Story. This was 1980. The moment I saw the Jets, I knew that was what I was meant to do. From that moment I pursued dance training.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers?

Hello, I am Patrick Notaro and a native of Clinton, MA. Having no dance training under my belt, I begged Boston Conservatory of Music to let me audition. They agreed and took me as a student in September of 1980. Two months into the semester I suffered a severe lower back injury from practicing a modern partnering lift with a female dancer and could not return to school for several months. I did physical therapy for 3 months and told my PT I want to return to my training. He advised me that it was too soon and I would inevitably re-injure my back. Sure enough, I re-injured all the progress my PT had made. In April of 1981, I had to leave school again. Tried to make up some time by going to summer study. My back was not strong enough. I left Boston for a third time, moved home and began my therapy again. Sad and depressed I worked in a factory dipping paint brush handles in primer for 8 hours a day. One year later I returned to Boston and started working with a very small ballet company called Copley Square Ballet which turned my life around. I was so happy! From there, I rehearsed with CSB and then would drive to Providence RI to train and be a part of Festival Ballet of Rhode Island.

In 1987, I received a full scholarship to attend Boston Ballet’s six week summer intensive. I was in Boston Ballet 2 and after summer was over I left Boston Ballet at the age of 25 and returned to North Providence and made a life there for about 10 more years.

In 1995, I co-founded Providence Ballet (now Providence Ballet Theater) in downtown Providence. Now, at 34 years old, I was teaching a lot and freelancing around New England. Not exactly how I wanted to retire from the professional stage.

In 1997, I was offered a contract to dance with Ballet Internationale, Indianapolis, IN where Gregg was dancing at the time. I was once again so happy working with world renowned artists of the Kirov Ballet. I learned so much. It was truly a dream come true. I retired from Indianapolis and moved to Cincinnati in August 1999 and became a ballet instructor at Cincinnati Ballet thru 2005.

Can you share a story from your journey that illustrates your resilience?

My back injury. I was determined to become a dancer. And I had an 18+ year career.

Can you tell us about a time you’ve had to pivot?

When my dad became ill. Gregg and I had just won Outstanding School at Youth America Grand Prix (YAGP) among other awards. It was February, 2005. I called to tell my parents. My dad answered the phone and I told him he sounded sick. He had pneumonia and was diagnosed with a terminal illness. From that moment on I knew I would be moving home in the coming months. My dad passed away four weeks after I moved home.

In early 2007, I took the real estate exam and became a realtor on Cape Cod. The real estate market took a huge hit and in 2008 I returned to my artistic roots and began teaching again at Heritage Ballet in Lincoln RI. From this teaching position I learned in 2012 that a dance school was for sale in MA. I pursued this opportunity and for the last 10 years I have been co-owner/director of Dancing Arts Center with my spouse Gregg Saulnier.

Contact Info:

• Website: dancingartscenter.com
• Facebook: Dancing Arts Center
• Other: [email protected]