Today we’d like to introduce you to Fae Salfiti.
Fae, we appreciate you taking the time to share your story with us today. Where does your story begin?
OUR BLISSTORY
Bliss Urban Arts Center began long before there was a building, a staff, or even a dance company. It began with a vision.
Founder, Owner and Artistic Director Fatena “Fae” Salfiti grew up in the San Francisco Bay Area as a self-taught, ambitious young dancer with a deep love for the arts. Growing up in a first-generation Palestinian-American family, pursuing dance was not necessarily the path expected of her. At 16, Fae began working and used her own money to put herself into dance classes, determined to build the artistic life she envisioned for herself.
After earning an Associate Degree in Psychology and a Certificate in African American Heritage Dance Forms from City College of San Francisco, Fae relocated to Vacaville in 2002. She arrived knowing virtually no one in the area and began building her name from the ground up—teaching hip hop classes throughout Solano County, networking within the community, and creating opportunities wherever she could.
That same year, she established the Bliss Recreational Dance Program. As the program grew and Fae recognized the talent developing within the community, she took the next step and founded Bliss Dance Company in 2004.
But Bliss did not begin with its own studio.
For years, the company trained wherever it could—renting space at different facilities and making use of garages, parks and other available spaces. At the same time, Fae continued her own education, completing the Actor Training Program at Solano Community College and later earning a Bachelor of Arts in Theatre Arts from Sacramento State University. She balanced school, teaching, building Bliss and working outside jobs, including years of early-morning opening shifts at Starbucks.
There was no major investor, roadmap or financial backing behind Bliss. Fae often describes those early years as having “a dollar and a dream.” What she did have was persistence, a willingness to work, and a belief that something meaningful could be built for young artists in her community.
In 2011, nearly a decade after the journey began, Fae was finally able to leave her day job and open the doors to Bliss Urban Arts Center, giving Bliss Dance Company its first permanent home.
MORE THAN A DANCE STUDIO
From the beginning, the vision for Bliss was bigger than dance.
Fae wanted to create the kind of space she wished she had experienced as a young artist—a place where young people could be challenged, supported, encouraged to be themselves and given opportunities to discover what they were capable of.
Over the years, Bliss has grown into an artistic community encompassing dance, theatre, music, poetry, fitness, performance, mentorship and community events. Fae has produced and participated in hundreds of performances and events, connected artists throughout the region, mentored young performers and helped create opportunities for generations of students.
Bliss has also remained unapologetically competitive. Bliss Dance Company has earned recognition at competitions and showcases including World of Dance Bay Area, Onyx and Prelude, while continuing to perform professionally throughout the region.
But trophies have never been the entire point.
The success of Bliss is perhaps best reflected in the dancers who grew up within its walls. Many former and longtime BDC dancers have gone on to become performers, choreographers, instructors, mentors and leaders themselves. Today, Bliss proudly describes its company instructors as “homegrown”—artists who understand the culture because they were once students within it.
That full-circle legacy represents what Bliss was always intended to become.
STILL BUILDING. STILL CREATING. STILL BLISS.
More than two decades after Bliss Dance Company was established, the original mission remains intact: create opportunities, develop artists, build community and give young people a place where they can belong while expecting them to work for their growth.
The journey from borrowed spaces, garages and parks to an established arts center was never simply about opening a dance studio. It was about creating something sustainable enough to outlive a single generation of dancers.
Today, Bliss Urban Arts Center continues serving Solano County while Bliss Dance Company continues training, competing, performing and evolving. The work has also received recognition within the greater arts community: Fae has received multiple Solano County Arty Awards, and in 2024, Bliss Dance Company’s Summer Showcase received the Arty Award for Outstanding Youth/Adult Dance Production.
And after more than 20 years, Fae’s philosophy remains simple:
“Once you’re a part of Bliss, you’re a part of me.”
— Fatena “Fae” Salfiti
Established 2004. Home established 2011. And the Blisstory is still being written.
Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
It definitely has not always been a smooth road. Owning a small business, especially one in the arts, comes with a lot of highs and lows. Dance is something people love, but it isn’t a necessity like groceries or housing, so when families have to adjust their budgets or schedules, extracurricular activities are often one of the first things affected.
Every season is different. Some years we have a huge influx of dancers and the studio is thriving, and other years we lose dancers to sports, school activities, other interests, or simply families’ changing circumstances. You have to learn how to adapt because enrollment and income are never completely predictable.
COVID was by far one of the biggest challenges I faced. Like so many small business owners, I genuinely did not know if my business was going to survive. We couldn’t operate normally, yet the financial responsibilities of having a studio didn’t simply disappear. After putting so many years into building Bliss, facing the possibility that something completely outside of my control could take it away was incredibly difficult. Somehow, we made it through, and I don’t take that for granted.
The reality is that running a dance studio is not an especially lucrative business. There have been times when I’ve had to work a second job as a massage therapist to help keep the studio open. I think people sometimes see a business that has been around for more than 20 years and assume that longevity automatically means financial security. It doesn’t. Sometimes longevity means you became really good at adjusting, sacrificing, problem-solving, and figuring out how to keep going.
Then there are the everyday realities of owning a physical space: unexpected repairs, maintenance, equipment breaking, staffing changes, finding dependable instructors, managing schedules, covering emergencies, and handling expenses that seem to come out of nowhere. As the owner, ultimately everything lands on your desk.
But those challenges have also taught me resilience. Bliss has had to evolve many times since I started it in 2004, and I have evolved right along with it. There have been seasons of growth and seasons where the goal was simply to survive, but I’ve always remained committed to creating a place where young people and adults can train, perform, be creative, and feel like they belong. More than two decades later, I think the fact that we’re still here says a lot about what perseverance in small business really looks like.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
I am the founder, owner, and artistic director of Bliss Dance Company and Bliss Urban Arts Center in Vacaville, California. I founded Bliss in 2004, so what started as a passion for dance and performance has now grown into more than two decades of working with dancers, families, artists, and our community.
We specialize primarily in hip-hop and performance-based training, but what we do goes beyond teaching choreography. I have always been passionate about developing well-rounded performers. Our dancers train in freestyle, musicality, choreography, performance quality, theatrics, and stage presence. I want them to understand how to entertain and communicate with an audience, not just memorize eight-counts.
Bliss Dance Company has had the opportunity to compete and place at events such as World of Dance Bay Area, Onyx, and Prelude, and we perform throughout the year at community events and professional paid performances. I’m incredibly proud of those accomplishments, but I’m equally proud of the fact that we have created opportunities for so many different kinds of dancers.
We have our competitive and performance company, a recreational hip-hop program, adult dancers who train and perform because they still love the art, and our adaptive dance program. I don’t believe dance should only have a place for the person trying to become a professional dancer. There should also be a place for the child who needs confidence, the adult who misses performing, the dancer who simply wants a creative outlet, and the person who may learn or move differently but still deserves the opportunity to be onstage.
I think one of the things that sets Bliss apart is that I’ve never wanted it to feel like a traditional dance studio. Hip-hop is our foundation, but creativity and individuality are extremely important to me. We incorporate freestyle, theater, improvisation, different styles of music, choreography exercises, and opportunities for dancers to discover who they are as artists. I want our students to have structure and discipline while still having room to be themselves.
I’m probably most proud of the longevity and the community we’ve created. Twenty-plus years in business means I’ve watched children grow up through Bliss, and I’ve watched dancers become adults, professionals, parents, teachers, and mentors themselves. I’ve also had the privilege of working alongside some incredibly talented instructors and artists over the years.
Awards and placements are wonderful, but they aren’t what I’m most proud of. I’m proud that after all these years, Bliss is still a place where people can walk through the door, find community, develop their craft, get on a stage, and feel like they belong. To me, that’s the real legacy of what I’ve built.
Do you have recommendations for books, apps, blogs, etc?
i attend self-development seminars when i can, i also do listen to podcasts and read a lot.
My favorite self-development “guru” is Kyle Cease. My favorite seminars have been Tony Robbins, Lewis Howse, Kyle Cease. Favorite author is Don Miguel Ruiz.
Pricing:
- $150/ 8 weeks recreational program
- $185/month Company Teams
- $20 Drop ins
- $100-$170+ Massage Therapy
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.blissurbanartscenter.com
- Instagram: blissurbanartscenter
- Facebook: blissurbanartscenter
- LinkedIn: Fatena “Fae” Salfiti
- Youtube: blissdancecovacaville
- Yelp: bliss urban arts center
- Soundcloud: Fatena Salfiti (my poetry)
- Other: Blissurbanartscenter TIKTOK
