Jeremy Ratliff
Reporter
As of this past January, Dawn Troyer Dance Studio and owner Leah Brown has been open and accepting new students at their new location at 1500 West Main Street.
According to Brown, the new 1,500-square-foot studio in Merrill offers a bit more space and convenience.
“I was looking for more space for our studio as well as a waiting area for parents, our new location offered exactly what I was looking for,” the veteran dance instructor explains. Brown and the studio’s official ribbon cutting with the Merrill of Chamber of Commerce was held in mid-July.
Prior to moving into their west side location, Dawn Troyer Dance Studio’s first location in Merrill was at Les and Jim’s Lincoln Lanes in 2007 and Pine River School in 2010. Brown also operates the studio’s main location at 809 Prospect St. in Wausau.
Having nearly 3 decades of dancing under her feet, over half of which has been spent at the instructor level, Brown cites the fulfillment factor as her driving force.
“Dance goes well beyond just an interest for me,” she explains. “Observing the learning process is just a wonderful feeling. The interaction with the students and literally watching them learn more every day is what I love the most.”
Brown’s doors are open to anyone ages 3 to adult, offering a wide range of dance instruction including; Tap, jazz, ballet, pom, lyrical, hip hop, opportunity class (sampling various styles) as well as a technique class, which touches on the fundamentals of dance.
Along with her passion for dance and passing the gift of dance on to future generations, Leah Brown and the Dawn Troyer Dance Studio also holds a strong passion for giving back to the local community.
“We do a community event of some sort every year,” Brown adds. “We pick a different organization or cause to work with every year and we do some type of fund raiser with our selected organization. We feel it’s very important to our studio to be active in the local community. We believe in teaching our students that being active in their community is just as important as what they learn in our studio.”
As an example, the studio raised and donated over 200 pounds of food for the local Merrill Food Pantry.
Another community based cause this year was the studio awarding two scholarships of full-year dance instruction, to two lucky recipients.
On Aug. 19, Brown and the studio will be holding their first Open House at their new location. Hours will be from 5-7 p.m, during which time the studio will be holding open registration. In addition, dance shoes will be on sale and guests will be treated to complimentary pulled pork sandwiches courtesy of Kim’s B.S Sauce of Wausau.
“Our Open House event will be a great opportunity for the community and those interested in dance, to come over and see what we are all about down here,” Brown adds.