GARRETT MINNITI
Garrett “Spaghetti” Minniti found his happy feet on stage at the age of 8 singing and dancing with the West Coast Musical Theatre Co and by age 10 he was performing all over southern California. By the age of 14 it was clear that dance would be his lifestyle and career. His ever present smile, charm, and passion were methodically trained while performing with numerous song and dance troupes, competitive dance teams, and main-stage musicals at the Orange County High School of the Arts and West Coast School of the Arts. After less than a year at UCLA’s School of Theatre, Film & Television - at 19, Garrett hit the road when he was cast in international tap dance sensation Caution: Men at Work Tap, and soon after jumped to national touring productions of Broadway’s SWING! and 42nd Street.
Upon returning to Los Angeles after a few years on the road, Garrett began teaching tap dance at The EDGE Performing Arts Center is North Hollywood, CA while continuing to pursue his career as a commercial ‘song and dance man.’ Teaching for The EDGE was/is defining moment in Garrett’s career and allowed for many exciting memories, like working with various celebrities and professional athletes. Certainly most notably is tap dancing with international model/actress Camilla Belle in her ‘Fabric of our lives’ commercial. Other highlights from this chapter of Garrett’s career include main stage productions of A Chorus Line (Mike), Grease (Danny) Singing in the Rain (Cosmo), Little Shop of Horrors (Seymour) and The Great American Songbook, Starring Ed Ames and Carol Lawrence and The Andy Williams Christmas Show in Branson, MO.
At 25, Garrett made his way to New York City to pursue dancing on a Broadway stage. Although landing a Broadway show at that time wasn’t part of God’s plan (at least not yet), it was on that journey where Garrett met his ‘brother from a another mother,’ (and business/artistic partner) Ahkai Franklin, while dancing for Sybarite Artist’s Collective in 2006. Although they came from very different backgrounds their common passion, energy, and commitment to their art-form drew them together. Right away the fast friends began choreographing together, under the under the name In It For Life Productions; fusing their styles and experiences and performing in various venues in and around NYC.
From 2007 to 2015, In It For Life produced over 30 events - from dance and theatre workshops, winter and summer dance training intensives, fundraisers, festivals for education in the arts, choreography showcases, and original Off-Broadway workshop productions featuring some of the industries most sought after choreographers, educators and dancers - ALL of which, in some way, motivated by a desire to create a community of like-minded artists and bridging gaps between passion and opportunity.
In 2013, Garrett and Ahkai Franklin debuted The Breakthrough Outreach & Performance Co; a community of artists committed to provoking positive change and inspiring action through culturally relevant art, dance and theatre. In 2016, The Breakthrough debuted The Collaboration TOUR Project in Guatemala City and Antigua; a month long event which consisted of opportunities for education, performance and philanthropy. Today, The Breakthrough Movement consists of almost 50 dancers from 11 States, Canada and Guatemala - and we are currently in talks of a second Collaboration TOUR to Japan in near future.
Garrett is also the co-founder with a second ‘brother from another mother,’ Jason Marquette, of MPower Dance Workshops. MPower is an in-studio dance workshop/convention experience focused on connecting for it’s students that the lessons learned in the dance studio are key to finding success and happiness in life outside of it. Jason and Garrett have been teaching together since 2011, and have created a unique and immersive experience that builds on itself year over year and a community for it’s students and their parents to continue to network, learn, grow and connect.
Garrett takes great pride in being an arts educator and attributes much of his success to his mentors not only putting lots of energy and love into his training, but to their instilling in him the responsibility to pass along the knowledge and opportunity to the next generation. He has spent the last 20+ years teaching, choreographing, speaking, judging and adjudicating for many dance studios, schools, conventions, competitions, workshops, universities and festivals, and considers it an honor and a privilege to be in a place where he can give back to a community that provided tremendous opportunity in his life. tion goes here