MEDICINE HAT, AB — A local dance studio is at risk of shutting its doors if its not able to find a new space.
Renew Dance Studio, which currently runs out of the Summit Centre, will have to leave after the first week of June, as the Summit, which also held an indoor skate park, has closed.
“Because it’s a community space, we all share it, we all got to share the costs of it,” said Becky Klaiber, owner and teacher at the studio. “Not having other programs to work with makes it a lot harder to pay for on your own, when we’re trying to keep our prices affordable.”
Klaiber opened Renew Dance seven years ago, running classes out of Bridge Church in Riverside.
She says the studio is non-competitive, and her vision is to run programs where students can learn to dance in a welcoming environment.
“We do shorter semesters, instead of paying for the full year,” she said. “We sponsor as many kids as we can. Qe don’t pay for costumes or recitals. we don’t do fundraising. It’s just so that anyone can have the chance to dance.”
Lee Shannon’s granddaughters have been dancing at Renew since it began seven years ago, with her two older granddaughters running classes for younger students.
Shannon says she loves the positive atmosphere at the studio.
“They instill values, good core values for all of the kids, and they bring that to the forefront,” she said. “The kids are acknowledged for different traits at the end of each session, and they’re inspired to do more in that vein, and it’s a good aspect of learning for the kids.”
“One of our biggest mottoes is we don’t just teach kids how to dance, but we want to teach them to be dancers with great character,” said Klaiber.
The studio currently has 275 students of all ages taking part in classes, and joined The Summit when they outgrew their previous space.
However, due to the closing, they are scrambling to find a new space to run classes once their semester is done in June.
“I wouldn’t be able to have my granddaughters in dance if it wasn’t for the affordability,” said Shannon. “So Renew is our place to go, and I really am hoping something will come up or someone will come forward with a spot that will allow them to continue with what they’ve been doing.”
“We’ve had tons of people reach out, our Medicine Hat community is amazing, but logistically, nothing has worked out yet,” said Klaiber. “We have a few options that we are looking at right now, but nothing is set in stone as of yet.”
Klaiber says she wants to find a space to hopefully resume classes in the fall.
Anyone looking to help out can contact the studio through their official website.
