Owner and Founder Alicia Dodge of Just Dance Studio sits behind her counter at their new location in Canal Place.
by Dave Warner
Just Dance Studio is about ready to open their new facility at 410 Canal Place, in the Stone Mill building.
Owner and Founder Alicia Dodge said, “Each time we move, it’s because we’re growing. Last time we moved from East Main because the rooms were just not big enough for our larger classes and there wasn’t space for the parents to sit.”
She said that with all of the COVID restrictions, they’re not sure what they’re going to be able to do with parents at the new location. She said, however, “I need a space that I can stay at.”
She feels like this is a great spot to stay for a long time. “Neil and Dave said that they wanted to keep us here for a long time, so they told me that they’d set it up the way I wanted it.”
Neil Rosenbaum, with Rock City Development, said, “We were very excited when they approached us about having their business here. The kids and the parents and the business they will bring to the 1st floor and Canal Place. It’ll be great for the parents to wait for the kids and visit The Cafe at Stone Mill and Mangia Macrina’s Wood Fired Pizza. I think it’s a really good fit.”
Rock City Development contracted with a company from Pennsylvania that came in and did soundproofing. “They typically do music studios, and broadcast studios,” Rosenbaum said.
Dodge said that the higher ceilings are a real plus for them. “We do lifts with the kids and tumbling, so we need that extra height.”
“This space is brighter and happier, and we go for that atmosphere. It’s also a better building structurally, and the flooring is better for everything, including tap dancing and point” she stated. “At the other location, we had tile and I was going to have to invest to make it better. Safety-wise, this is a much better location for us.”
They have two large rooms for dance, a waiting area, a kid’s room, and a dressing area. “We’ve got coloring books and everything to keep them occupied when they are not dancing.”
They are going to have a red carpet event on August 8th where the students will get to wear their costumes around Canal Place and take pictures. “We’ll give them their awards at that ceremony,” Dodge stated. “We’re doing this instead of the recital because we were worried about capacity.”
Just Dance Studio handles toddlers all the way up to adults in their classes. “It’s more spacious than what we had before and we can more easily handle these groups. We didn’t have a lot of open space when people walked in either,” she said. “It kind of created a bottleneck.”
The grand re-opening for the business is August 15th, and they’ll make sure that everyone is social distancing and moving through. “That’s when we’ll have our registration, people will be able to check out the space and meet their instructors. We’re pushing our start date back a little bit just in case, so October 5th is when our real classes begin,” stated Dodge.
Right now they have summer classes going on for their competition team because of the limited class sizes. “They have to keep their training up because they’re competitive dancers. They’re going to be going for about two more weeks.”
If you are interested in contacting them, you can find them on Facebook or Instagram, or their website justdancestudio.org. You can also call them at 315-269-5721 or send an email to justdancestudio1@gmail.com.
