Big productions require big talent. With Playhouse Square‘s announcement that Derek Deane’s “Strictly Gershwin” was going to be bringing the production to Cleveland, from Oct. 4-6, the need for dancers was quickly realized. Dancers pose during a practice rehearsal. (Courtesy: Sarah Savelli) With the production needing 55 dancers, 11 tap dancers, a 48-piece orchestra, and four singers, the call went out for people in the dance industry to fill those roles and Sarah Savelli of The Cleveland Tap Dance Conservatory, who is more widely known as co-owner of Savelli’s in Willoughby, heard that call. According to a news release, the production is featuring the Tulsa Ballet, members of Cleveland Ballet, Cleveland Pops Orchestra, and local independent artists. “’Strictly Gershwin’ takes the audience on a journey through the George and Ira Gershwin songbook while recreating the opulent era of big bands, the spectacle of Broadway, the glamour of Hollywood musicals, and the panache of Gene Kelly, Fred Astaire, and Ginger Rogers,”  the release stated. Featured songs include “Summertime” from Porgy & Bess, “Someone to Watch Over Me,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Strike Up the Band,” “An American in Paris,” and “Rhapsody in Blue.” Savelli co-founded The Cleveland Tap Dance Conservatory with Kandee Hogan early last year, and it now holds tap dance classes and other programs at the Shore Cultural Centre in Euclid where they try to bring in new dancers. She said that although the Euclid location is newer, her focus has been on the Willoughby location, which was founded by her mother, Jennifer “Dianne” Savelli 45 years ago. Dianne died on Aug 13 of this year. Now, Sarah and her sisters Jennifer and Juliette are trying to carry on their mothers legacy in the dance community by bringing the same dedication and passion for the arts and to their students that her mother did. “I, have specialized in tap dancing and kind of made it my thing, but we all sort of fill in those cracks,” she said. Sarah Savelli sits in the cafetera/dance space, at the downtown rehearsal area of Playhouse Square. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Savelli said that when a production reaches out and needs dancers, she is able to use her connections to connect them with students with a wide range of experience levels, some already in college and others as young as 8 years old. “For this one, I was able to get seven tap dancers together,” Savelli said in the lunchroom of the Playhouse Square rehearsal studios downtown. “I’m so excited for the dancers because they will be able to have that moment on the KeyBank State Theatre which is like a 3,200-seat theater, with a live orchestra playing. “There is nothing like that feeling of being on stage with the lights and the music and it’s all playing, and you are dancing and in costume and you are surrounded by all kinds of different performers. I feel like none of them have experienced what that rush is, and so I’m looking forward for them getting the chance to experience it.” Tap dancers Torie Gray Riley Hammett, Cecily Herchek, Sylvia Hodge, Megan Michael, Sophie Savelli, and Vivi Stein, who are all students of Savelli, will be in the production. Tap Choreographer for Strictly Gershwin, Bill Simpson goes over part of their routine. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) “I asked them if they could interrupt their lives in order to do it, and they said yes and they were excited to do it, and now we are here,” Savelli said. Cecily Herchek (right) looks on as Tap Choreographer for Strictly Gershwin, Bill Simpson talks. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) Tap Choreographer for Strictly Gershwin, Bill Simpson and Sophie Savelli are shown practicing a tap dance routine. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) She said that the time from finding dancers to when they are actually on stage can vary depending on what production it is. In this case, she got an email in September, and 10 days later, they were already rehearsing. The somewhat hidden entrance of the Playhouse Square rehearsal studios in downtown Cleveland. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) She said having to rely so much on local talent in this scale was not something that happens very often and that it brought its own set of challenges for the different choreographers, including Tap choreographer Bill Simpson. She said that when using local talent, the directors and choreographers have to gauge everyone’s level of experience and work with what they have locally. “It’s fun to be able to facilitate this, to be able to say ‘yes I have dancers, yes we are trained and ready, yes we can do this’ ” Savelli said. “Because this show really hinges on being able to use local talent to play a part… There are a lot of different local people that were kind of intrinsic to be able to make this production happen. “Now and again, it happens, but it is a challenge,” Savelli said of productions using local talent. “Because then you are sort of subjected to whatever people are able to provide and just hope that it is all going to mesh together, it is risky, and it is risky business. “I’ve done it with tap dancing. I have done shows where I have asked various youth groups from all over the country to come to the space and do a holiday show together,” she added. “But you have no idea what the groups are going to bring, in terms of their dances, in terms of their costumes, in terms of anything… It can be kind of crazy but it’s fun.” Vivi Stein, Riley Hammett, Megan Michael, Sophile Savelli, and Sylvia Hodge take a short moment in between practicing routines. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) She said that because the dance community can be so segmented, that the dancers in the production will be able to gain connections and memories during their time training, all the way till their final bow on the stage. “I’m also happy they are able to get the chance to meet and bond with other dancers,” Savelli said. “Because people that you meet in these rooms have become the lifelong friends that I stay with whenever there is a job, or if we create together. “The bonds that are formed when you are waiting for hours to get on stage for your moment, all of that time is time that you meet people and have lifelong friends and memories… it all becomes the stuff you are still talking about 20 years later.” “It’s really part of, I think, the legacy that was started with my mom at her studio,” Savelli added. “I really just want to spread seeds of tap dancing and connect those altogether… It’s sort of like a radio signal that I put out and ask everybody to come together into one space… even though it’s about tap dancing it’s also about this larger mission of connecting people who have the same interests, are on the same wavelength and then what that sparks.” Vivi Stein, Sophie Savelli, and Cecily Herchek go over part of a routine. (Frank Mecham- The News-Herald.) She said that her The Cleveland Tap Dance Conservatory in Euclid is trying to get more people that are between 18 and 24 connected to opportunities in tap dance because, unless a person is planning on becoming a professional dancer, there are limited options for those interested in the art. “It’s the demographic we are trying to cultivate because you are out of school and able to do jobs like this, because a lot of these opportunities stop right out of high school, unless you actively decide that you are going to devote your life to tap dancing and you go seek them out in other places,” Savelli said. “I’ve been wanting Cleveland to have more of a tap dance presence lately. She said that weekly classes will start to be offered at The Cleveland Tap Dance Conservatory starting Oct. 14 and that she wanted to get back into the swing of things after taking a pause over the summer. She said that they will be having an hour-long show in November at the Shore Cultural Centre and that she was trying to get the word out on the tap programs that she’s going to be offering. “We have had a lot of interest,” Savelli said. “So, now, it’s just about giving everyone the opportunity to get into that space. I think the classes have been full because it’s a relief to not have to think about stuff- the problems, the stresses, and just dance.” Tickets for ‘Strictly Gershwin’ can be purchased at the Playhouse Square website.