Flooded Fridley dance studio works to rebuild: "We're just going to keep on dancing"
FRIDLEY, Minn. — The floor is dry now, but the scope of the damage inside Moore Than Dance is still soaking in. A week and a half ago, a pipe burst and flooded the studio with 1-2 inches of water.
"We had gymnastics mats, we had props, our 6-foot tree that we had inside here that was handmade. Just everything, we lost a lot," Owner Angela Mannella-Hoffman said.
Mannella-Hoffman opened the studio in 2010. They currently serve almost 400 students a week who are enrolled in singing, dancing and acting classes.
"Our studio is not just the four walls. It's the people and the community, so we'll rebuild. But it's hard," she said.
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The flood happened right before spring break so no one was there at the time. This week, students are returning to class in a new temporary space above the studio.
"We have a lot of dancers in wheelchairs. So for them to be able to maneuver to get to the new space and things, it's going to be a little more difficult," she said.
Mannella-Hoffman hopes to be able to rebuild and reopen the studio space in a month or two. A friend has set up an online fundraiser to help cover the mounting costs, including the special dance floor.
"We just keep telling the kids to just keep on dancing on stage no matter what happens, so it's kind of the same thing here, we're going to just keep on dancing," she said.
