Covid Can’t Keep Emerald M Ranch From Its Work

Lisa Michelangelo (left) with Brianna at the recent Derby Day celebration at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Wesley Chapel. (Photo courtesy of Lisa Michelangelo)

When Brianna, a Wesley Chapel teenager with Cerebral Palsy, graduated from high school in 2019, she could have rolled herself across the stage in the wheelchair she has been confined to for most of her life.

Instead, she walked.

For Lisa Michelangelo, who had helped make that miracle possible at her Emerald M Therapeutic Riding Center in Brooksville, it was the type of moment she lives for and why she does what she does.

“It was really one of the most awesome things I’ve seen,” Michelangelo says.

Michelangelo, formerly a physical therapist in New Tampa, founded the Emerald M ranch six years ago. Named for the stone that Michelangelo says stands for “hope, renewal and growth,” Emerald M offers physical therapy that incorporates hippotherapy, which utilizes the movement of horses for rehabilitative purposes.

It has been a godsend for many like Brianna. It was the first time any of her Center Academy classmates had ever seen Brianna walk. Thanks to the therapy she received at the Emerald M Therapeutic Riding Center, Brianna made her graduation one of the most memorable days of her life — and the same can be said about many of those in attendance.

“I can’t express how much doing this has changed my whole perspective,” Brianna said in a video that played at the Emerald M’s second annual Derby Day fund raiser earlier this month at the Hyatt Place Hotel in Wesley Chapel. “It’s definitely life changing. I believe that wholeheartedly. It was one of the best decisions me and my family ever made.”

The fund raiser, like Brianna’s graduation, was a hit. It raised more than  $20,000 to help the Emerald M ranch continue to provide its unique form of therapy.

Usually held on the same day as the Kentucky Derby in May, the fund raiser almost didn’t happen this year, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

“We were planning and then stopped planning and then started planning again,” says Michelangelo. “It was a real blessing to be able to do it.” 

The event was limited to 120 people, or half of capacity, and about 100 attended. Those not ready to venture out or concerned about the size of the crowd despite a host of coronavirus precautions taken by the hotel’s staff, the event also was streamed to provide a virtual experience.  

Because most of Emerald M’s participants are more susceptible to coronavirus, the 20-acre ranch had to shut down in March, and re-opened in June. It features 10 horses, and more than a dozen volunteers.

The center, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, usually hosts two fund raisers a year — the Derby Day event in May, which was moved to September 5, and a gala dinner in October, which had to be cancelled.

“Derby Day did not offset the gala, but we did benefit with twice what we raised at Derby Day last year,” Michelangelo says. “That is tremendous. It puts us in a much better place moving forward.”

Source: EmeraldMTherapeuticRidingCenter.org

According to Michelangelo, hippotherapy, or equine-assisted therapy, is a growing and effective way to improve one’s coordination, balance and strength, especially in cases with children suffering from Cerebral Palsy.

According to the American Hippotherapy Association, Inc., and others, the horse’s pelvis and hips move in the same way as a human’s. By riding on a horse and maintaining balance, sometimes even riding sideways and even by sitting backwards, the movement of the horse is channeled to the brain and can enhance neuromuscular development.

Not only does it help build things like strength and control, it has various sensory benefits and also helps improve motor skills.

Sarah Clanton spent the first five years of her life with nothing. She existed chained to a bed in the Ukraine, and when she was adopted by Yvonne and her husband Jon Clanton, she could barely sit up by herself.

Sarah is one of the Emerald M Therapeutic Riding Center’s most successful patients, who despite being blind and mentally underdeveloped, is now walking with assistance and responding to instructions and showing major improvement in her motor skills, thanks to hippotherapy.

Emerald M has participants who suffer from autism, processing disorders, emotional disorders, cerebral palsy, paralysis and brain tumors. It also offers beginner horseback riding lessons for siblings of program participants, which helps keep everyone in the family involved.

The center also offers therapeutic adaptive riding, which is more recreational and teaches someone with a disability horsemanship skills and how to ride.

Regardless of the help needed, Michelangelo says there’s a good chance they can provide it at Emerald M.

“I love what I do,” Michelangelo says. “It doesn’t feel like therapy. We’re out in a recreational environment, and once the kids get on the horses, I’m golden because they don’t ever want to get off.”

Emerald M Riding Center is located at 4022 Goldsmith Rd. in Brooksville. For more information or to donate, visit EmeraldMTherapeuticRidingCenter.org, or call (352)-244-7471. 

Water Park for The Grove?

A potential water park at The Grove in Wesley Chapel would be similar to something like Splash Harbour Water Park in Indian Rocks Beach..

Jamie Hess hadn’t even opened his dueling piano bar, Treble Makers, before he was on to the next thing.

A water park for The Grove?

“I get bored easily,” Hess jokes.

According to Hess, he was having a conversation with Gold only about a month back when the developer asked what he thought about the idea of a water park, which could be built on 1.8 acres next to the Chuck E. Cheese’s.

I thought it was absolutely brilliant,” Hess said, who went ahead and jumped in as the point man on the project. He signed a letter of intent that day.

Hess says it wasn’t hard to convince him. After all, he was the first person to sign a lease with Gold. (Note – Double Branch Artisanal Ales had actually signed with the previous owners shortly before Gold bought the property.)

“I think his vision for this area is great,” Hess says. “I wanted to be a part of it right from the beginning.”

The water park will not be sprawling like Tampa’s Adventure Island, but will be family-oriented, says Gold, and small enough where parents will have no trouble keeping an eye on their kids.

Hess says he envisions the park as something similar to Splash Harbour Water Park in Indian Rocks Beach, but larger — Splash Harbour is on roughly 1.3 acres, compared to the 1.8 acres planned for The Grove’s water park.

The Grove park will have a lazy river and a variety of slides and splash zones. It won’t need a mini-golf course like Splash Harbour, because Gold is building a standalone course as part of his theater complex.

The water park will have season passes, as well as one-day and four-hour passes. Although it is still very early in development, a one-day pass might cost $25, with a four-hour pass running $16. Season passes will be “very very reasonable” according to Hess.

He adds that he is in the feasibility phase and, once that is determined, the design phase begins, followed by permitting.

Within a year, Hess says, the park could be ready and he has already shown the county pictures of what he has planned and, “they were enthusiastic.” 

COMEDY GOLD!

There’s already a taproom, dueling piano bar and mini-golf, and a unique movie theater and a container park are on the way to The Grove. But, if you think developer Mark Gold of Mishorim Gold is done, it looks like the joke might be on you!

Side Splitters Comedy Club will be bringing the same nationally-known comics. like America’s Got Talent finalist Preacher Lawson, to its Wesley Chapel location that it regularly schedules in Tampa.

Two guys walk into a bar.

One guy says, “Hey, how would you like to bring your comedy club to The Grove theater in Wesley Chapel?”

The other guy says, “Hey yeah, that sounds like a great idea. Let’s do it!”

Okay, so that’s not much of a joke — we’ll leave that to the pros, who will be headed to Wesley Chapel in a few months, when the renowned Side Splitters Comedy Club opens a its second location in The Grove on S.R. 54.

Developer Mark Gold, who is redeveloping The Grove into an entertainment space unrivaled in the area, says he has forged a deal with Brian Thompson, the owner of Side Splitters in Carrollwood, to bring a full-fledged stand-up comedy club to the area before the end of 2020.

As part of the former Cobb theater’s dramatic makeover — which already is set to include a huge video game area, a high-tech spin room, theaters that cater to kids and moviegoers and two new restaurants — Side Splitters Comedy Club will take over one of the theaters for its stand-up shows.

“We have gotten a ton of requests to get another location and Wesley Chapel is one of the areas with the most requests,” says Thompson. “We know it’s a growing area and, when the opportunity came up to get in there, we took it. We see it as a win-win for both of us.”

And, for the record, Gold and Thompson didn’t forge the deal at a bar. Instead, Thompson, who says he has been unofficially scouting the Wesley Chapel area for years, came across a 3-D video online showing the new things happening at The Grove and inquired about any vacancies.

He was told one unit was available, but it was smaller than what he was looking for, so he declined.

However, five minutes later, after Gold found out a comedy club had called — just what he had been looking for — the developer arranged to meet with Thompson that same day.

“He said he was one of the top comedy clubs in the U.S.,” Gold says. “I had a theater available in what will be an entertainment complex. It’s perfect. It’s a good fit.”

April Macie has performed at Side Splitters Comedy Club, as well as on Netflix.

While the original Side Splitters is a 5,500-sq.-ft. location and seats 250 patrons at tables and chairs below the stage, the comedy theater at The Grove will seat roughly 170 above the stage, with food and drink service.

“It will be a little different, but it will be the same intimate feel of Side Splitters that people dig,” says Thompson met with Gold’s management company this past week to hammer out the details.

Thompson, who was the general manager at Side Splitters since 2007 before buying the club in 2019, says it draws 70,000-80,000 people a year while mostly holding shows Thursdays through Sundays. That built-in audience is likely to translate nicely to the Wesley Chapel location, which also happens to be the home of some of Side Splitters’ more popular comics, like Rahn Hortman and JB Ball.

Side Splitters Carrollwood has hosted a number of nationally-known comics, and Thompson says some of those big names also will come to Wesley Chapel.

“We’ll definitely get comedians with some strong TV credits — some late night appearances, “America’s Got Talent,” “Last Comic Standing” — people like that,” Thompson says.  

Open mic nights also are popular at the club and will carry over to The Grove.

“It’s a nice partnership,” Thompson says. “Mark’s vision is having a one-stop shop, where people can walk around, grab dinner, play a round of golf and see a comedy show, without having to get in their cars to drive to each place. We’re very very excited to be part of that.” 

Zooming Through An Awesome Community Meeting On Racism

So, I certainly didn’t know what to expect when 21 people got together for the first-ever New Tampa and Wesley Chapel Zoom community meeting on racism on August 25, but I have to say that it was shocking, eye-opening, disheartening and heartwarming all at the same time.

How could it possibly have been all of those things at once? 

It was shocking because, from my meeting co-host — District 63 State Rep. Fentrice Driskell — to military veteran April Lewis to my friend Nikii Lewis (all shown on this page), some of the stories told by the black and white people alike who participated in that meeting showed just how prevalent dealing with racism in our area and this country truly is and seemingly always has been.

It was shocking for me to hear that Rep. Driskell, a Harvard University and Georgetown Law-educated Tampa-based attorney originally from Polk County, has been assumed to be either the court reporter or the client/defendant as often as she has been assumed to be the lawyer.

It was eye-opening to hear Nikii, who lives in a mostly white neighborhood in Wesley Chapel, tell the story about her six-year-old daughter, who told her — at age 3 — that she’s afraid of white people, and that when her daughter was drawing pictures of people, she wouldn’t use a brown crayon because, she said,  she wanted the people “to look normal.”

And, it was disheartening to hear that April Lewis, a recent transplant to New Tampa who is suffering from PTSD after six years in the Army with two deployments, who also is a Gold Star wife whose husband was killed in Iraq, doesn’t feel safe when she walks into a store and doesn’t feel the same equality as I do.

But, the Zoom meeting also was heartwarming because several of the attendees who were white said that they were participating because they felt the need to do something in the wake of the recent shootings of black people like George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, Jacob Blake and others by law enforcement officials and the civil unrest that has followed those incidents across this country.

When I organized the event I didn’t know what my goal was — and I still don’t — but I do know that I truly do not want it to stop there.    

“I can’t even tell you how many times, as an attorney in court, that people have assumed that I was the court reporter or the defendant.” — State Representative Fentrice Driskell

“If my black skin is good enough to fight for this country, I can’t understand why my blackness isn’t good enough to receive the same equality as everyone else.” — New Tampa resident & Gold Star wife April Lewis.

“In one of the neighborhoods where Ronnell grew up in Tampa, there was an elementary school called Robert E. Lee Elementary, and that was just considered a normal thing. And, for too long, it was considered taboo to even talk about racism, so meetings like this are definitely a step in the right direction.” — Live Oak residents Ronnell & Brittaney Curtis

“When the George Floyd incident originally started, there were people in our own neighborhood patrolling in golf carts and (carrying) guns, which was kind of concerning to us.” — Wesley Chapel residents Sara & Kyle Hill

“My son is half Hispanic and it was only recently he told us he was discriminated against in school. When I asked why he never told us, he said he didn’t think my wife and I would believe him.” — New Tampa hotel owner David Larson

“I was working as a prosecutor in Pasco County and got pulled over by a cop because prosecutors have their plates blocked out. He didn’t believe I was a prosecutor until he called one of my associates he knew who told him I was.” — Attorney & Wesley Chapel resident Cornelius Demps

“I grew up in a small town in southeastern Pennsylvania and we had no black people in our town. I remember we had a community pool and we were going to have a swim meet at the pool , but people in the town were concerned that something bad would happen if black people from other communities would be swimming in the pool. I wasn’t raised that way and I remember being shocked that anyone would think something like that.” — New Tampa resident Donna Harwood

“I worked as a speech language pathologist in the Pasco elementary schools and I am learning a lot about racial injustice in this country. I would like to do something about helping to change that situation, but I realize that (as a white person) I can’t lead that but I am here to learn and follow..” — New Tampa resident Naomi Lang-Unnasch.

New Tampa Dance Theatre Offers $25 Tuition For 25th Season 2.0

Now in its 25th season (2.0), the New Tampa Dance Theatre on Cross Creek Blvd. offers a variety of classes for all ages, ranging from 3 years old all the way to adults

Whether you or your child likes to dance for fun or dreams of a career on stage one day, the New Tampa Dance Theatre (NTDT) offers dancers a world-class, professional experience that is unmatched in the Tampa Bay area.

Located on Cross Creek Blvd. (across from Heritage Isles) in New Tampa, the 7,500-sq.-ft. NTDT is the largest professional dance training facility in the New Tampa/Wesley Chapel area. Owner and artistic director Dyane Elkins IronWing is in her 25th season of creating dance memories and futures for her students, many of whom have gone on to study dance in college and/or dance professionally.

“As always, I’m so proud of our students,” says Elkins IronWing. “Our dancers become excellent college students, with their impressive time-management skills, perseverance and creative thinking.”

While the coronavirus pandemic wiped out most of the first half of the year for NTDT, Elkins IronWing is hoping to finish her “25th season 2.0” out strong.

“Our hearts are bursting with excitement, seeing our beautiful students again,” she says. “With last season ending differently than planned, we are continuing to get back to the community and extending this milestone celebration by offering all new students $25 per month tuition for every class!” 

NTDT’s complete schedule of classes is being offered with in-person, Zoom, or a hybrid of both to ensure that families feel 100% comfortable during this transition. Elkins IronWing says that the safety of their students has always been her top priority, so social distance guidelines, extra disinfecting nightly with hospital-grade products and masks are required at this time.

“Our students are extremely excited about being back dancing at the school and spending time with their dance family,” says Elkins IronWing. “We’re extremely proud of our faculty and our students’ dedication during this transition. They are all truly living up to the NTDT motto of ‘Respect, Responsibility and Teamwork.’” 

A Chance To ‘Do As I Have Done’

Elkins IronWing herself says she started dancing at age 5, later trained in New York City and performed with the Ballet Metropolitan in Columbus, OH.

She moved to Tampa in 1995 to be near family and friends and immediately opened NTDT in the Pebble Creek Collection on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. In 2002, she purchased the current NTDT property on Cross Creek Blvd., designed her spacious new studio herself, and moved her school to the new building in January 2006.

With the bigger location, Elkins IronWing was off and running, offering smaller class sizes and larger, more varied schedules.

She says she also has a larger pool of students today, with the ongoing explosive growth in Wesley Chapel.

“Our name might say New Tampa,” she says, “but our location is much closer to Wesley Chapel than one might assume. We are extremely convenient to all of the current growth (there). Wesley Chapel families are shocked to discover just how close we are and are excited because of how quickly they can drive to our school.”

All Ages & Experience Levels

NTDT caters to both the recreational dance lover as well as the devoted pre-professional — and every level in between.

The studio’s leveled curriculum offers multiple art forms for students to explore. Through personalized attention and professional expertise, NTDT’s professional faculty strives to provide a positive educational experience.

Teen/Adult classes include four eight-week sessions (from Sept.-May) of classical ballet, tap and Zumba.

Children ages 3-4 can participate in the studio’s Early Childhood Program, ages 5-8 can take part in the Children’s Program and ages 9-18 are invited to join NTDT’s Youth Program.

In addition to classical ballet, NTDT offers full programs in creative movement, modern, jazz, tap and hip-hop.

Each program has its own directors and specific syllabuses guiding students in a structured manner through their studies.

Dyane’s husband, Troy IronWing, is NTDT’s director of tap, while she will instruct ballet, jazz and creative movement classes this season. Both also have continued to tour internationally — now for 15 years — with the Rhythm Extreme performance troupe.

The facilities at NTDT are as top notch as the instructors, and include maple flooring for the tap classes, 20-25-ft.-tall mirrored walls, student locker rooms and a large studio space that can accommodate up to 200 people. 

Sprung floors provide shock absorption to protect the dancers’ joints and an on-site physical therapist ensures the health of the dancers. NTDT also features a café offering light meals, snacks, coffee and other drinks.

The Training You Need

NTDT has developed a reputation for creating strong, professional dancers with alumni who have moved on to highly respected dance companies, Broadway productions and the Walt Disney Company.

Because NTDT students learn to be proficient in multiple art forms, these students have an edge in the competitive world of dance and many of them have been accepted into prestigious summer intensive programs, including the School of American Ballet and American Ballet Theater in New York City, The Harid Conservatory in Boca Raton, the Joffrey Ballet in Chicago and the Boston Ballet.

“With this milestone 25th anniversary celebration season, it’s a time for reflection with extreme gratitude and love for all the amazing people who have been a part of our dance programs and family,” says Elkins IronWing.”

One local former student certainly agrees with that assessment.

“I credit all of my success as a professional dancer to the foundational training I received at NTDT from ages 6-18,” says Victoria DeRenzo, who today is a professional dancer and choreographer who has toured internationally in 28 countries on four continents, most notably with the renowned Pilobolus Dance Theatre in Washington Depot, Connecticut.

“I loved every second of my experience growing up there,” she adds, “but I had no idea how spoiled I was until I graduated. Not many people receive a top-notch dance education in multiple artforms during their lifetimes, let alone at the age of 6.” 

If a student doesn’t choose to pursue a career in dance after high school, they can still reach a level of artistry to be accepted into many college dance programs, says Elkins IronWing.

“Believing in yourself, respecting the process of working towards a goal, and having a well-rounded dance education give our students the tools and confidence to continue discovering new passions throughout their lifetimes,” she says.

Great Productions, Too!

All students get to perform in NTDT’s “Spring Production” and — through the studio’s nonprofit partner, the Dance Theatre of Tampa (DTT) — in the winter production of “The Nutcracker,” as well as the “Summer Concert Series,” held in June at the University of South Florida’s Tampa campus.

DTT provides more than 300 free tickets to NTDT’s corporate sponsors, local community supporters, alumni members and students. A small costume rental fee for productions is the only cost over the tuition that parents have to pay at any time — Elkins IronWing says there is never a requirement to buy advertising or pay performance fees.

New Tampa residents Gary and Charity Hartley relocated here in 2018 from Virginia, and enrolled their daughter Hope at NTDT. 

“The New Tampa Dance Theatre and the entire staff were the linchpins for our transition into the New Tampa area,” Charity says. “The warmth of the studio, quality of instruction and wonderful students have made us feel right at home. We especially love the way (NTDT) manages the educational aspect of their DTT company members, ensuring they have exposure to various dance forms in their weekly training, master classes and dance performances they attend as a group.”

Transferring at 14 years old, Charity says Hope was originally placed in the Youth Program Level 6 and has made true, long-lasting friendships at NTDT. 

“The positive atmosphere, paired with the super talented staff, is simply the best dance experience we’ve encountered throughout our various moves as a military family,” Charity says. 

Every holiday season, Elkins IronWing says local residents look forward to the community’s largest and longest-running interpretation of Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet, “The Nutcracker,” now in its 21st NTDT season. This year, it will be held Friday-Sunday, December 18-20, at the USF Tampa College of Arts Theater 1.

“It’s all about the children at NTDT, always has been and always will be,” she says. “We are a company that enables children to succeed. The key is setting high expectations, all while having fun and building self-confidence. With the amazing season ahead of us, we would like to thank all of our trusting and loyal families over the years and the organizations that continually support our vision. Without their recognition and time, NTDT wouldn’t be the magical place it has become!”

The New Tampa Dance Theatre offers year-round free trial classes for prospective dancers of all ages. To tour the facility or to rent it for a meeting, party or function, visit NTDT at 10701 Cross Creek Blvd. For more information and to check out the exciting lineup of fall 2020 classes, visit NewTampaDanceTheatre.com or call (813) 994-NTDT (6838). You also can follow NTDT on Facebook and Instagram at “New Tampa Dance Theatre.”