In the evening of Tuesday, January 7th, 2025, dance class in our Altadena studio was interrupted by everyone receiving an emergency alert on their phones, notifying us that a fire had started locally. We promptly ended the class and sent everyone home, never imagining that it would be the last time anyone would ever dance in our studio of the past seven years. By the next morning, 33 of our dancers awoke to the news that their homes were completely gone, and many more sustained significant damage.
As the building behind our studio burned, it ignited the sprinkler system in our building, flooding the entire dance studio, which we were subsequently unable to access for several weeks as the area was quarantined by the National Guard. By the time we were able to go in to take a look at the space, everything in the studio had been ruined by water damage from the flooding and much of the neighborhood was gone.
Within a week and a half, we had secured temporary space at 5 other local dance/fitness studios and were able to resume classes for those who were still able to come and dance. We continued in these temporary locations until May 2025 when we moved into our new permanent home in Pasadena. Dancers who lost their homes had their tuition waived for the remainder of the season, and while many had to commute from their own temporary spaces outside of town, we are grateful that they were able to join us to maintain a sense of normalcy after losing their homes and/or schools.
Our studio supported our dance families by collecting monetary donations and distributing them directly to families most affected, providing free classes, and collecting dancewear donations from around the country. We were able to collect and distribute leotards, tights, ballet shoes, tap shoes, and any other dancewear needed for our students to continue dancing during this time, and still have a supply of free dancewear available at our new location for anyone in need.
We were also able to secure donations to be able to waive the recital fee for ALL dancers for the season, providing free costumes for everyone in the performance. Our May 2025 recital performance was a celebration of the unbreakable spirit of community and joy that dance provides, and we felt the love from members of the dance community far and wide.
While some time has now passed since the date of the fire, our dance family is still rebuilding in many ways. Every family who lost their home is still in the process of rebuilding, and our new location is in need of significant work and upgrades to be fully complete as what we hope will be our dance home for many years to come.
We are endlessly grateful for the support from every single person who has been part of this journey with us so far, and those who continue to walk this path with us and help us continue to provide dance opportunities for our young dancers and their families. Our love of dance brought us together and our love for our community continues to keep us connected.