The Dance Collaborative

Rich Palatino

As fate would have it, Rich Palatino stumbled onto the dance floor in late 2004. Immediately, Rich was invigorated by the entire dance experience. The music, rhythm, skill, and precision were all all very attractive elements, but nothing appealed more to Rich than the people! It was apparent to Rich that the dance floor seemed to hold a respectable cross section of society at any given time.

That night Rich was bitten by the Jitterbug and caught a bad case of “Dance Fever”. Soon he found himself dancing several nights a week, attending dance lessons and frequenting dance venues throughout New England. In time, Rich became another familiar face in the local and regional line dance community. With every new stone overturned Rich discovered more and more of the Dance World.

Over the last several years, Rich has danced himself across the country. Attending major Dance events like The Line Dance Showdown, Windy City Line Dance Mania, The Vegas Dance Explosion, Summer Hummer, Boston Tea Party and more. In that time, he has also discovered dancing in the Swing and Ballroom communities and has become quite passionate when it comes to West Coast Swing. His insatiable desire to become proficient in all forms of dancing only heightens his appreciation for Line Dance, the perfect merger of all styles and rhythms of dance.

He believes that Line Dance is the perfect social medium for all dancers. For beginners, Line Dance can provide the basic fundamentals of dance overall. For the experienced dancer, Line Dance is a fun way to stay sharp and improve specific skills.

While still a relatively new dancer Rich has been exposed to much of the Dance World. He conceived the idea of The Dance Collaborative after he began searching for a new dance venue that could host a large group of passionate and talented line dancers after the unexpected closing of a popular dance club in Western Massachusetts.

In establishing The Dance Collaborative Rich partnered with his good friends Todd Lescarbeau and Staci Cutler in hopes of helping to overcome some of the stereotypes that have come to exist between our different dance communities. Rich hopes The Dance Collaborative will help expose dancers to the diversity of dance today while, at the same time, proving that we are all connected on the dance floor!!! Dancers are special people and, in his view, there is no reason why Dancers cannot share a common platform created “For Dancers, By Dancers!”.

Like most Dancers, Rich has many passions in life. Besides Dance, which is the youngest of all, Rich is an avid outdoorsmen. He has a “deep” love for Skiing and Mountaineering. He views the scaling a rocky cliff or skiing down a snowy mountainside as requiring the same grace and finesse as leading a partner around the dance floor. To him, the challenge and rewards are the same. In addition to the outdoors, Rich has had a life long love for aviation and has logged over 150 Hours at the controls of single engine aircraft.

Rich is looking forward to a lifetime of dancing. He considers dancing to be his lifesaver. Allowing him to become a happier and more free individual. He’s been quoted as saying, “I joined the Marine Corps looking for what I eventually found on the Dance Floor”. He believes that if you dance with your heart, your feet will follow and that the most important steps are those that bring us closer together!!!

Rich is thankful for all the wonderful people he has met through dancing and all those who have helped him along the way. He looks for every opportunity to give back to the Dance Community. He is forever motivated and endlessly inspired by all those who Dance!!!

Rich is a resident of Springfield, MA and can be contacted via e-mail at Rich@dancecollaborative.org

Todd Lescarbeau

Todd Lescarbeau has been an instructor and choreographer in line dance for sixteen years. He was born in North Adams, Massachusetts May 7th, 1971. Todd got his start in dance accidentally. He was asked by some friends to try it, but when you’re a teenager, the last thing you want anyone to know is that you like country music. He went to class and fell in love with it. At the time, the class he attended was already 10 years old, and run by two very special people, John & Lois Hescock. Todd took over direction of the group known as The Berkshire County Line Dancers after Mr. Hescock’s passing. He had only been dancing a short time, but he had such great enthusiasm that not only did he grow into his new title, but he excelled at it. He is considered to be one of the top instructors in line dancing, and is often invited to teach at large dance events around the country. Mr. Lescarbeau has a style all his own, but is always careful to see who may need a little help, and will continue to do certain steps until you “get it”.In addition to his teaching, Todd has made a name for himself as a choreographer. Perhaps his most famous dance would be N-SYNC, which took off like wild fire across the United States. To this day, it is still being done, now around the world. When the movie, “The Spy Who Shagged Me” came out, the dance was revived in England to the movie’s theme song and was re-taught again.

Todd Lescarbeau has been recognized by some of Country dance’s famous names such as Barry Amato. Barry used to host the popular television program “The Wildhorse Saloon”, inviting Todd and his dance team to Nashville to present a feature performance for the show. Recently, Barry Amato launched his own Nashville singing career with a new CD titled “TOMORROWLAND”. Todd was included in great company with top choreographers like Max Perry, John Robinson, and Jamie Marshall to choreograph dances to Barry’s songs. Each choreographer’s dance was featured on an Instructional Video to accompany the CD. Todd’s dance is titled “Like I’ve Never”

In 1999, Mr. Lescarbeau had one of his best years as a dancer. After winning 1st place at several dance competitions, he entered the Worlds VII Championships held in San Antonio, Texas. He danced away with a 2nd place finish in the men’s intermediate division. Second Place in the World. During the championships, he was asked by Miss Scooter Lee to escort her during her performance and was included to perform in the Dinner Show among many great line dance personalities..

In the same year, while vacationing on a cruise with many from his group, Todd was spotted dancing during the week by one of Country Music’s original sweethearts, Miss Lynn Anderson. Lynn Anderson happened to be the cruise lines headline act during the week’s sailing. She was so impressed with his dancing that she asked him to perform on stage with her during her two acts.

It was not soon after that Todd was asked by Miss Kathy Hunyadi, another top choreographer, to collaborate with her to create yet another popular dance, “Freakshow On The Dancefloor”. The dance is currently being done all over the country and Europe.

Mr. Lescarbeau enjoys working with other dancers on choreography because collaboration “brings many wonderful different styles together”. Todd also loves to teach. His unique method of instruction has enabled many students to build great confidence for themselves. He lives by a philosophy that “we were all beginners at one time and everyone must be patient – above all, especially an instructor”. This way of thinking has made him a favorite instructor to many.

Other popular dances by Todd: ALLIGATOR ROCK (choreographed with his dance team), FOLLOW ME, AMOR, PLAY, ALL WOUND UP, HIGH TIDE, MADE 4 U, and ENERGY!

Todd is available for group instruction, private lessons, competition and demo team coaching.

CONTACT INFORMATION
143 Hope Street Apt. #2. Greenfield, MA 01301
E- MAIL: todd@DanceCollaborative.org
Or todd_lescarbeau@yahoo.com

PHONE: (413) 824-6612