John Driskell Hopkins, the co-founder of the Zac Brown Band, was in our area with the band last weekend for two shows (Nov 3-4) at the MidFlorida Amphitheater.
Between those two concerts, Hopkins (who is suffering from a slow-progressing form of ALS), and his own four-piece band made a stop at TrebleMakers Dueling Piano Bar in The Grove for a show to benefit his “Hop On A Cure” nonprofit foundation.
The show — which included some of Hop’s original compositions, as well as the Zac Brown hit “Toes” (Hopkins has a writing credit on that song), plus popular songs by Billy Joel and Tom Petty — raised just shy of $20,000 for Hop On A Cure.
In addition to the music, the highlights of the afternoon were the buffet meal included with each show ticket donated by TrebleMakers owners Jamie & Joe Hess and Lee Bevan, and the live auctioning off of two Taylor guitars signed by the entire Zac Brown band.
John Driskell Hopkins, who has earned fame as a guitarist and vocalist with the Zac Brown Band, was diagnosed with ALS in Dec. 2021. Since Mar. 2022, he has been raising money for his own “Hop On A Cure” nonprofit to help find a cure for the dreaded disease. Hopkins and his trio will play a fund raising show at Treble Makers Dueling Piano Bar & Restaurant on Nov. 4. (Photo: Dave Kotinski, Getty)
Now that Halloween is ending, if you’re looking for something fun to do that also will help support a great cause, you should get your tickets now to the “Hop On A Cure” fund raiser to find a cure for ALS (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis), also known as “Lou Gehrig’s Disease,” that will be held this Saturday, November 4, beginning at 1:30 p.m., at Treble Makers Dueling Piano Restaurant & Bar at The Grove.
John Driskell Hopkins, affectionately know as “Hop” by his bandmates in the Zac Brown Band and his other friends (including Treble Makers owner Jamie Hess), was diagnosed with ALS in December of 2021 and started his “Hop On A Cure” 501(c)(3) nonprofit in March of 2022 to raise money to help find a cure for this dreaded nervous system disease, which currently has no cure.
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Jamie and Hop and although he admits that his guitar playing, speech and ability to walk have definitely slowed since being diagnosed, he feels fortunate that his ALS is a slow-moving version of the illness.
“I have a friend who was diagnosed in his 20s who lived almost 30 years with it, but other people die within just a couple of years,” says Hopkins. “It affects everyone a little differently.”
Although his Wikipedia.com profile calls Hopkins the bass player in the Zac Brown Band, he says he only played bass on the first three albums. He was the band’s co-founder with Brown and its deep harmony voice for the last 18 years. He also has writing credits on some of the band’s top hits.
Hopkins will be bringing his John Driskell Hopkins Trio — which includes drummer Mike Rizzi, who also is a close friend of Jamie’s from high school — to play some of the band’s original compositions, rock and country covers and some Zac Brown favorites, like (maybe) “Toes,” on which he earned a writing credit.
“Hop On A Cure raised over $1 million our first year,” Hopkins says. “Our goal is to raise $2 million in our second full year.”
Hopkins, who got his start in Tallahassee in the early ‘90s, still plays guitar, sings and tours with the Zac Brown Band (which is famous for hits like “Chicken Fried” and its four platinum albums), as well as with his trio, and says he plans to keep playing and touring for as long as he can. “My strength and agility aren’t what they once were,” Hop told me. “But I plan to keep working at this until we find a cure for ALS.”
Hopkins was one of more than 20,000 people in the U.S. living with ALS, which usually afflicts people ages 40-70.
Tickets for the fund-raising event at Treble Makers on Nov. 4 cost $40 per person and include a buffet meal, Angels & Outlaws Live (2 p.m.-3:30 p.m.), and Hop and his trio (4 p.m.-5 p.m.).
“We’re only going to sell 300 tickets and every dollar raised will be donated to Hop On A Cure,” Hess says. “Hop is a great guy and I just want to help him find a cure.”
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 29th 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 very proud of our students,” says Elkins IronWing. “Our dancers become excellent college students, with their impressive time-management skills, perseverance and creative thinking. Each season, our hearts burst with excitement creating with our beautiful students again. We plan to continue giving back to our community with the ‘Pay It Forward’ program by offering all new students $25 per month tuition for every class!”
Follow In My Footsteps?
Elkins IronWing says she started dancing at age 5, later trained in New York City and performed with Ballet Metropolitan in Columbus, OH.
She moved to Tampa in 1995 and immediately opened NTDT in the Pebble Creek Collection. In 2002, she purchased the current NTDT property on Cross Creek Blvd, 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 NTDT also has a larger pool of students today, with the ongoing explosive growth in Wesley Chapel, as well as in New Tampa.
“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 the current growth (there). Wesley Chapel families are shocked to discover just how close we are and excited how quickly they can drive to our facility.”
Not Just For Future Pros!
NTDT caters to both the recreational dance lover (even adults, photo left) 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.
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.
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 for a break, meal, or homework.
World-Class Credentials
NTDT has developed a reputation for creating strong, professional dancers with alumni who have moved on to highly respected dance companies, Broadway productions, national tours, and 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.
“Reflecting on 28 years in our community, it’s beyond words the gratitude and love for 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, CT.
“I loved every second of my experience growing up there,” DeRenzo 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.
Participating In Productions
All students have the opportunity 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.
New Tampa residents Brian and Trisha Mangan enrolled their daughters Mattie and Mikayla at any early age with NTDT.
“New Tampa Dance Theatre holds a special place in our hearts, as our daughters’ second home since the age of three, guiding them into their teenage years,” Trisha says. “What began as tentative steps has blossomed into a journey of incredible growth, thanks to the dedicated and caring instructors. NTDT has not only shaped them into skilled dancers, but into confident and determined young women embodying the values of hard work and perseverance, attributes that extend far beyond the studio.”
Every holiday season, Elkins IronWing says local residents look forward to the community’s largest and longest-running interpretation of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s classic ballet, “The Nutcracker,” now in its 24th DTT season. This year, it will be held Friday-Sunday, December 15-17, at the USF Tampa College of Arts Theater 1.
Prior to the performances at USF, DTT also will perform “The Nutcracker Suite” Saturday & Sunday, December 2-3, at 6, 7 & 8 p.m., at The Shops at Wiregrass.
“It’s all about the children at NTDT, always has been and always will be,” Elkins IronWing 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 new season ahead of us, we would like to thank all of our trusting and loyal families over the years and 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 2023 classes, visit NewTampaDanceTheatre.com, call (813) 994-NTDT (6838). You also can follow NTDT on Facebook and Instagram at “New Tampa Dance Theatre.”
Dancers from the Tampa City Ballet catch some air during the ballet company’s performance at the first-ever Fall Festival at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center Sept. 8-10. (Photo by Charmaine George and Gary Nager)
If you somehow missed the first-ever Fall Festival at the all-new New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC), you missed a truly special weekend (Sept. 8-10) of 100% free performances of virtually every kind.
A spectacular dance performance by the Jansen Dance Company.
Everything from ballet to modern dance and from Broadway to traditional Indian dance was available to attendees, thousands of whom packed the NTPAC throughout the weekend. NTPAC executive director Keith Arsenault (photo below) was clearly beaming all three days of the Fall Festival.
“We couldn’t be happier with the performances, the attendance and the feedback we’ve received from everyone who visited this weekend,” Arsenault said. “It’s clear that this community has been hungry for more cultural opportunities.”
Although we weren’t able to take pictures at every performance, Neighborhood News photographer Charmaine George and I were proud to be on hand for most of the weekend’s festivities, which also included Arsenault unveiling a plaque of thanks (bottom middle) to Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan (bottom left). Arsenault said that the land for the NTPAC was dedicated 15 years ago, and that it took 15 County Commission votes to make the Center a reality. “We have many people at the county to thank,” Arsenault said, “but we would not be standing here today without the long-standing efforts of Ken Hagan.”
Hagan was clearly moved by the plaque. “Politicians are rarely at a loss for words, but I am blown away by this. Thank you!”
Among the memorable performances and activities on Friday afternoon and evening at the NTPAC’s Fall Festival were song-&- dance routines by the Freedom High chorus.A hands-on “Instrument Petting Zoo” sponsored by The Florida Orchestra.Members of the New Tampa Players theatre troupe (l.-r., Makayla Raines, TrevorLloyd, Alyson Gannon, pianist G. Frank Meekins & Kyle Billington) kept the huge crowd entertained with a cabaret lounge-style set of timeless classics.
After the impressive and super-fun performances on Friday afternoon and evening, the NTPAC’s Fall Festival didn’t rest on its laurels. To the contrary, it may have even stepped it up to another level on Saturday, as the outstanding Wharton High band (above) first filled the main stage theater and no one left disappointed.
But, as great as the ‘Cats musicians were, the performance by the Tampa City Ballet (above pics) Saturday evening was the first of the weekend to have to turn away people who wanted to check out this professional-level ballet company, as somewhere between 20-30 people had to watch the dancers and the troupe’s incredible backgrounds that were projected onto the cyclorama (cyc) at the back of the NTPAC stage on a TV in the lobby.
There was no let-up on Sunday, either, as the Rudram Dance Company brought a huge number of traditionally-costumed Indian dancers to the NTPAC’s main stage. Then, before two one-act plays (“Co-Workers” and “Sherlock Holmes & Case of the 5-Pound Note”) were presented by winners of the Tampa Bay Theatre Festival, the folk rock acoustic duo of Daisies & Axes performed in Studio 2. There also was a “Fun with Broadway Trivia” game presented by the New Tampa Players, followed by ATLAS Modern Ballet’s contemporary dance performance, but we didn’t get to shoot those because of our deadline. Wow! Can’t wait ‘til next year!—GN
The Rudram Dance Company ‘s performance filled the Theater’s stage with traditional Indian dance, costumes & pageantry. Daisies & Axes perform acoustic folk rock in Studio 2. “Sherlock Holmes & the 5-Pound Note.”
When the new library opens, sometime in 2025, it will have access from both Mystic Oak Blvd. (bottom road) and Seven Oaks Elementary. (Renderings provided by Pasco County)
It’s not happening right away, but by sometime in 2025, Wesley Chapel will be home to two Pasco County public libraries.
The recently remodeled and completely revamped New River Library reopened on S.R. 54 — to rave reviews — last year.
But, wait until you get a look at the new 14,000-sq.-ft. Wesley Chapel Seven Oaks Library, which is now under permitting review and should begin building next to Seven Oaks Elementary by early 2024.
According to Pasco County public information officer Sarah Andeara, the county is in the process of evaluating and selecting a contractor for the award of the $10-million contract later this year.
“The groundbreaking of the Wesley Chapel Seven Oaks Library is expected in early 2024 and the project will take approximately 16 months to complete,” Andeara says. “The architecture firm of Fleischman Garcia Maslowski has provided the building’s design and the $10 million budgeted by the county is expected to cover the design, construction, furniture, equipment and collection materials.”
In addition to books, audiobooks, and DVDs, the new library will feature public computers, printers, a separate children’s area, collaborative spaces, a gallery wall in the lobby, an outdoor reading porch, a multi-purpose room for “makerspace” and other activities, a meeting room, and study rooms. Drive-up services also will be available at this location.
The Wesley Chapel Seven Oaks Library’s design has been provided by Fleischman Garcia Maslowski Architects.
The Wesley Chapel Seven Oaks library’s unique multipurpose makerspace room, with a designated outdoor mobile makerspace area, will provide all kinds of activities from Pasco’s other library makerspaces to the Wesley Chapel community. Some examples of these activities include woodworking, music and multimedia recording, ceramics and pottery, cooking, gardening, and more.
After receiving input from the local community, it was decided that the best use of the new library’s makerspace space would be to go with a multipurpose room option.
The intent for the multipurpose room is for it to serve as a “launch pad” for a mobile makerspace — which is expected to be a mobile van outfitted with a wide variety of different classic makerspace activities, such as woodworking activities, gardening, cooking, musical instruments, and recording options, as well as STEM activities.
For more information about the Wesley Chapel Seven Oaks Library, visit PascoLibraries.org.
