Bonnie Curtis, owner and instructor at Curtis Studio of Dance, was born into a performance family. Dance training began in Florida at the Grace Thomas Studio of Dance. Bonnie was a soloist since the age of five as well as performing with her mother and brother all over the east coast. She danced with the Palm Beach Ballet Company and enjoyed a very long and exciting performance career on stage, theater-in-the-round, and on television, performing a variety of dance forms. Along with the dance training, she studied classical piano for ten years. Bonnie used her dance background in her other love-that of one and three meter springboard diving, becoming top diver in the United States. She constantly refers to this training as a guide for improving muscular strength and endurance for her students as well as teaching the value of body mechanics and preparation for any move. Bonnie has been teaching dance for 46 years at CSD; she greatly enjoys putting on successful dance productions and working with her winning competition corps. She is a founding member of the Carpinteria Valley Arts Council.