Dance studio fundraises for new floor after heavy flooding

GEORGETOWN TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WOOD) — It’s been a rough time for many businesses because of the pandemic, but one that people may not have thought about: dance studios.

Not only did the owner of Sparkling Angel Dance Company in Jenison struggle because of the pandemic, she also faced flooding last month due to the heavy rain. She’s now hosting a fundraiser this weekend, hoping to get through these hard times.

“With a business like a dance studio, or gymnastics, or karate or anything like that, we had to fully shut down. There was no option,” said Sara Bohl, the co-owner of Sparkling Angel Dance Company. “We still had to pay our rent. We still had to pay all our utilities and all those other operating costs, and we had no revenue coming in. After a month, it was just like, I can’t do this anymore. I physically can’t, so we made the decision to fully shut down.”

Bohl says during the pandemic, they received just enough loan money to stay afloat with bills, but then something else happened: Her studio flooded at the end of June.

“That was just like the nail in the coffin for me,” said Bohl. “I was just like I can’t, I can’t even anymore, I don’t even know what to do. It was awful, but then we came in and we took up the floor and it’s like okay, now what. We can’t let this stop us.” 

Bohl says they don’t have enough money to fix the floor right now, so they’re hosting a hot dog and car wash fundraiser at the end of the month.

“If people keep coming, we’re going to keep going as long as we can,” said Bohl.

She says she relies strongly on her faith and knows that if Jesus persisted, she can as well.

“He kept going. He did so much for us, and my dancers deserve that too,” said Bohl.

The hot dog and car wash fundraiser will take place on July 31 beginning at 10 a.m. at the studio, located at 996 Chicago Dr.

Bohl says they’re going to keep going until it’s too dark or they run out of supplies.