Tutterow Dance Academy

06/05/2026

(here's the whole video)

Thank you Mason for putting this together for our 50th! And for everyone who contributed photos!
I will always be so grateful to Gayle & Phyllis Tutterow for coming to Largo to retire! They quickly realized that they could not have dance in their life so they went to the City of Largo Recreation Parks & Arts and asked about teaching a few classes. Thats when my mom took my 2 sisters & I to try a class. I was hooked from day 1!!! I loved dancing but NEVER enjoyed being on the stage :0.

I started taking class, then was asked if I wanted to assist with classes. I was at the studio every day after school. Eventually, Saturdays were 730am-3pm!!! I loved (and still love) being there, seeing a dancer accomplish a new skill, watching friendship grow into forever friendships, the joy of dancers being on stage, and watching a timid child develop into a confident, poised one.
Then one day, I was age 16 & Ms Phyllis asked me if I wanted to choreograph a jazz dance for a class. I accepted and had so much fun doing it! After it was finished, she said they were going to take it to Dance Caravan competition that summer to compete. (It's a really good thing she didnt tell me that upfront!😲) That routine "CITY" won in the top 3 grand champions! Back then they didnt have all the placements that they do now and it was Gold, Silver and Bronze only.

That is where everything started. It's 50 years later and Dance has brought so much to my life. It's not just a job for me. It's our lifestyle. Im forever grateful to have found a husband who supports me 100%. This lifestyle is crazy! The "behind" the scenes things that happen pretty much every sing day are sometimes more then I feel like I can handle. But, it always gets done. Im so happy that Brittney found a supportive husband too!!!! Mason fits in like he's been here his whole life

06/05/2026

Thank you Mason for putting this together for our 50th! And for everyone who contributed photos!
I will always be so grateful to Gayle & Phyllis Tutterow for coming to Largo to retire! They quickly realized that they could not have dance in their life so they went to the City of Largo Recreation Parks & Arts and asked about teaching a few classes. Thats when my mom took my 2 sisters & I to try a class. I was hooked from day 1!!! I loved dancing but NEVER enjoyed being on the stage :0.

I started taking class, then was asked if I wanted to assist with classes. I was at the studio every day after school. Eventually, Saturdays were 730am-3pm!!! I loved (and still love) being there, seeing a dancer accomplish a new skill, watching friendship grow into forever friendships, the joy of dancers being on stage, and watching a timid child develop into a confident, poised one.
Then one day, I was age 16 & Ms Phyllis asked me if I wanted to choreograph a jazz dance for a class. I accepted and had so much fun doing it! After it was finished, she said they were going to take it to Dance Caravan competition that summer to compete. (It's a really good thing she didnt tell me that upfront!😲) That routine "CITY" won in the top 3 grand champions! Back then they didnt have all the placements that they do now and it was Gold, Silver and Bronze only.

That is where everything started. It's 50 years later and Dance has brought so much to my life. It's not just a job for me. It's our lifestyle. Im forever grateful to have found a husband who supports me 100%. This lifestyle is crazy! The "behind" the scenes things that happen pretty much every sing day are sometimes more then I feel like I can handle. But, it always gets done. Im so happy that Brittney found a supportive husband too!!!! Mason fits in like he's been here his whole life

05/29/2026

I find myself reflecting on our recital weekend! It was a long weekend but I truly loved all of it. So thankful to all the alumni that came to celebrate this monumental year!
Our faculty is amazing, and truly love your dancers. We couldn't of had such wonderful recitals without them!!! 💕 So blessed that they chose to be part of of Tutterow Dance Academy.

Our dancers performed beautifully, many of them in all 4 recitals!!! ( and they gave her 110% in each one of them)

So many parents helped with props, dressing rooms, scanning tickets, handing out programs, decorating and cleaning up after. I cannot express enough how greatful and blessed I feel!

Thank you to everyone that helped us celebrate 50 wonderful years partnering with the City of Largo.

On to 51! 🩵🖤🤍

05/27/2026

Excited for season 51!

05/21/2026

https://www.tampabaybeacons.com/2026/05/20/tutterow-dance-academy-celebrates-50-years-with-family-reunion/

Alumni from the Largo dance studio’s five-decade history gathered at the Central Park Performing Arts Center for a pair of shows to celebrate Tutterow’s half-century milestone.

05/17/2026

I cannot say enough wonderful things about these people!!! They make it ALL HAPPEN behind the scenes 🩵🖤🤍
Thank You Thank You Thank You !

05/16/2026

So excited for this weekend! Super proud of our faculty, dancers (& alumni) and families of Tutterow Dance Academy 🩵🖤🤍.

05/13/2026