In 'Small,' a man goes from Belmont Park jockey to dancer

When Robert Montano was a teen working at the racetrack at Belmont Park in Elmont, he thought it was a fantasy land as magical as anything Walt Disney might have created.

"You hear the birds singing, you can smell the grass — and the horse manure — and you see the sun coming up, I just thought it was the best place for a kid," said the actor, 66, who was raised in Hempstead.

Now, Montano has captured all those memories of his Belmont days in the one-man play "Small," which he wrote and stars in through July 25 at the Pershing Square Signature Center’s Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theater in Manhattan. Portraying 24 different characters, Montano recounts his experiences growing up on Long Island, working odd jobs at Belmont, finally getting the chance to ride and pivoting into a career as a dancer on Broadway.

Still, if his mother hadn’t taken him to Belmont when he was 12 years old, none of that might have happened. That day she won big and spent the money on new floor tiles, but Montano left that day with dreams of becoming a jockey.

"I was so much smaller than the other kids in my class, I mean a lot smaller," he said. "And then I saw these jockeys. Back then they wore three-piece suits and were very much respected by people surrounding them. I thought that was so fascinating because they were small. It gave me such confidence."

From 1973 to 1982, he worked at Belmont doing everything from cutting up carrots to grooming the horses before finally competing in his first race in 1977 thanks to his mentor, Mexican jockey Roberto Pineda, who taught him to ride. Ultimately, several factors — controlling his weight, growth spurts, the death of Pineda in 1978 and a new love, dance — led to the end of his racing career

Montano didn't even realize he had any terpsichorean ability until he was approached by a woman at a club in upstate Saratoga who asked him to dance. "She thought I had rhythm. I had never taken a lesson, but I enjoyed it.

He auditioned for Adelphi University’s dance department and landed a two-year scholarship. One week after he graduated in 1982, he got cast on Broadway in "Cats," where he played Constable. Other Broadway shows followed — "Legs Diamond," "On the Town" and "Kiss of the Spider Woman" with Chita Rivera. He also worked as one of Rivera's two background dancers in her cabaret show "Chita."

Montano said there's talk of bringing "Small" to London and a film version is in the works that will feature a screenplay co-written with producer Todd Robinson.

"It’s about just trying to make your dreams come true and going for a goal and hoping it will work out," he said. "And if it doesn’t, where do you go from there. For me it was dance."