LOCAL TREASURES
ANCERS STUDIO TEACHING MINNESOTANS TO MOVE SINCE 1986
F or years, you may have passed by Snelling Avenue and noticed the gleam of lights and the swirl of movement coming from Dancers Studio, the long-running independently-owned ballroom dance studio in Merriam Park. A St. Paul mainstay for nearly 40 years, Dancers Studio was founded in 1986 by Marcy and Shinya McHenry who wanted to provide fun and easy ballroom dance lessons for everyone, whether you have two left feet or one of each.
Originally located at the old Firehouse 14 at 91 Snelling Avenue for over a decade, the McHenrys eventually fully renovated, customized, and moved into the building next door, 99 Snelling Avenue North, in 1998. In 2010, Dancers Studio expanded into a former bingo hall in the Midway Shopping Center to accommodate their burgeoning event business. For a period of 10 years, 415 Pascal Street was the home of Dancers Studio, when due at first to pandemic shutdowns and then significant building damage during the civil unrest in the summer of 2020, the doors to Dancers Studio were closed.
Dancers Studio reopened in the winter of 2020, now under the full ownership of longtime Dancers Studio employees, Kate and Gordon Bratt. It is now back at 99 Snelling Avenue North, which holds great sentimental value for the new owners and many of the students.
The studio has provided dance instruction to local celebrities, such as Olympic hockey coach Herb Brooks, Prairie Home Companion pianist Richard Dworsky, and entertainer Leslie Ball. Through private lessons, group classes, and weekly dance parties, thousands of Minnesotans (and some Wisconsinites!) have waltzed through the doors of the beloved institution. Whether you’re looking for a crowd-pleasing first dance at your wedding, a new hobby, or a great date night, Dancers Studio will make it fun and easy!
www.dancersstudio.com
50 R.F. MOELLER MAGAZINE
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