Coming to Phoenix as a young boy, Gene Bumph always loved music. A graduate of Phoenix Union High School, his dance band performed on the West Coast, later opening a dance school and studio here in Phoenix, in 1928.
Bumph's studio, his basement at 1302 West Willetta, was a large space with wood floors and strikingly beautiful brushed chrome Art Deco light fixtures throughout.
Known as being a strict instructor, his and his dance troop's efforts culminated in a three night performance in May of 1930. This then turned in to an 11-year run from 1932 to 1942. The students were children and teens studying ballet, tap, acrobatic, ballroom and other dances. The Bumph dancers were said to be Phoenix's version of the Ziegfeld Follies.
