Time period/Baraboo: 1951 - 2001

Submitted by: Bertie Canepa Reifsteck

Tony and Alberta (Verthein) Canepa learned their dance skills growing up in Madison, WI. Tony learned to tap dance at the YMCA and toured with the Haresfoot Club at the University of Wisconsin where he graduated in 1935. Alberta excelled in dance since the third grade at the Leo Kehl School of Dance. After high school, and graduating from beauty school, she used her ballet, tap and modern dance skills to tour and travel with “The Revelations.” The couple met on a blind date and after marrying in 1943, dancing became their common denominator. They moved to Baraboo in 1951 after Tony served as a Lt. Commander in the U.S. Navy. Tony started a Goodyear Tire Dealership and became active with the Baraboo Merchants Association. He tap danced at the Sauk County Fair as the Mystery Merchant and that performance led to a lifetime of dance for Tony and Alberta. They taught ballroom dance to their friends and those friends wanted them to teach their children how to dance. Canepa School of Dance was created and served Baraboo and the surrounding communities for decades. With their eleven children (Chris, Mary, Antoinette, Jim, Jane, Bertie, Claire, Tony, Joe, Diane and Tom) they were known as The Dancing Canepas, performing at events, fairs, night clubs and charity telethons and hosted a live television show. The family advocated for Easter Seals Wisconsin for over 60 years. Bertie Canepa Reifsteck carries on the dance studio tradition in Baraboo and Lake Delton, Wisconsin and in Kremmling, Colorado.