Wall-2-Wall Tap Dance Center

Dear Friends,

To say that the last 2 years have been rough for me would be a huge understatement. When I broke my leg in July of 2019, I had a vision for keeping my business going until I was able to return to teaching. In fact, business boomed in the second half of 2019 while I healed and worked on rehabbing my leg. I was even making plans for a possible expansion. Then I broke my arm and had to delay my return to teaching for a few more weeks. I was still optimistic and forged ahead with plans to grow my business. As the March-April 2020 Session began, I was back to teaching and fully involved with the day-to-day operation of my studio. And then… COVID. I began offering virtual classes, I applied for every grant and piece of government aid I could get. In July of 2020, I abandoned the idea of expanding my studio as things were beginning to look dire and decided to focus on just keeping my business alive. I set up a Go Fund Me to help cover the costs of my business while I was unable to offer in-person classes. I was overwhelmed by the show of support I received. So many of my friends and students pitched in to help during this time and I was able to raise enough money to cover things for several months. I remained optimistic and felt confident that my business would survive. Thanks to the grants I received, and the revenue generated by the Go Fund Me, I managed to survive through a full year of being shut down. Then, as I was preparing to reopen last spring, I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I delayed my reopening so that I could recover from my thyroidectomy. Finally, in May of this year, we resumed in-person classes for the first time in 14 months.

Throughout 2021, I have kept my eye on one very important date: December 31, 2021 – the day my lease on the studio space expires. When we resumed in-person classes, I decided to wait and see whether business was going to come back strong or if I would be faced with having to rebuild my business from the ground up before making any decisions about the future of Wall-2-Wall Tap Dance Center. Now that we’ve been operational for a few months, it is apparent that I would need to rebuild. Here are some facts:

1 – Since resuming in-person classes, the revenue my business has generated has not covered my overhead. The deficit for some months has been substantial.

2 – The revenue I make renting my studio space currently exceeds the revenue generated by holding classes.

3 – The last 2 years have worn me down physically and mentally, and I don’t have the energy nor the desire to rebuild my business.

All good things must come to an end:

I am sorry to announce that the October-November 2021 Session will be our last. Additionally, there are some substantial changes to the schedule for October-November so that I can open additional hours to studio renters. Owning my own studio was a dream I had since I was a small child taking my first dance classes and the last 8 years have fulfill that dream. Thank you to everyone who help make my studio a success.

But every ending is a new beginning:

I don’t think I will ever be done tap dancing and sharing my love of this artform with others. I’m sure I will continue to teach, I’m just not sure when and where at this point. My focus for the rest of 2021 is hold my last session and then shut down my current business. At some point after that, I will begin making plans for when and where I will teach and whether the HeartBeats or a different performing tap ensemble will be a part of that. During the next session, I will be compiling a list of people who wish to be kept informed of my teaching schedule in 2022 and beyond.

October – November 2021 Session

Since this is the last session, I ask that you plan to use up your class passes by the end of the session. We have removed the 20 Class and 50 Class passes from sale to keep people from buying more classes than they could possibly use. In addition to the in-person classes, we have a large library of pre-recorded virtual classes available, as well. Class passes can be used for these virtual classes, too. If you have any questions regarding how many classes you currently have on your account, please contact me.

For this session, we have compressed our schedule so that all classes will take place Monday – Wednesday. Creating a 3 day a week schedule that was as balanced as possible was difficult, but I think it will work. We have also added a 15-minute break between classes. The 5-minute turn-around during our current session has been a challenge.

Please note: For the October-November Session, we will not be offering classes via Zoom. All of these classes are IN-PERSON only.

If you are not comfortable registering on line and you are currently taking classes, you may register when you come for class. If you are not currently taking classes, please plan to call or stop by the studio during the following times:

If you are not able to class or stop by during one of these times, please email Mary at [email protected] so we can figure out a day and time that will work for you.

Masks Still Required

As the infection rate continues to climb in the Phoenix area, we will continue to screen everyone at the door and require masks to keep everyone as safe as possible. We are monitoring the percent of positivity daily and will change our COVID related policies should there be a large improvement in the numbers.

Liquidation Sale

As we near the end, we will be offering great deals on our merchandise and many of our studio items. Look for information in future newsletters on any great deals you might be able get as we liquidate.

Save the date

Our final classes will be held on Wednesday November 17. We are planning to have at least on wrap up event that weekend, possibly on Friday, November 19 and/or Saturday, November 20. Stay tuned for details about our “Final Shim Sham.”