BROCKPORT, N.Y.— Walls of mirrors, a spacious lobby and sleek black and white trim greet customers the second they walk in the door at Brockport School of Dance and Performing Arts’ new location.
The owner of the dance school, Leah Brady, bought the property in January. She was seeking a new studio space to accommodate dancers and their families for nearly seven years. The Main Street bridge renovation and its impact on parking added to Brady’s decision to purchase a new studio.
“Wherever we went had to check all the boxes. I needed parking. I needed it to be bigger. I wanted it to be handicap accessible,” Brady said.
Brady, a native of LeRoy, danced at the school as a child before pursuing dance at Kent State and later performing in Chicago as a professional. When she came back to the Brockport region as an adult, she taught at her childhood dance school before taking over as the owner in August 2015. She still has fond memories of the school’s former location on Main Street.
“It’s a total upgrade, [but] it was emotional leaving the space because I danced there,” said Brady.
The school was housed at 67 Main St. since its founding in 1986. The building’s previous history as a Masonic Temple contributed to the dance environment.
“We had the old brass doorknobs, ceilings and woodwork. It was beautiful, and that’s what I was keeping in mind when I was renovating this because I knew it was going to be ‘everything brand new,’” Brady said. “I wanted it to still have a wow factor because we were losing all that character.”
After purchasing the property on Lake Road and meeting with an architect in February, Brady began renovations in April.
“It was a great building. Because it was a [New York State] Trooper Barracks, [the] state built it. It had amazing bones, structure-wise,” Brady said.
The building also operated briefly as a daycare. Still, 20 years of vacancy meant that nearly the entire building had to be gutted, and construction lasted 16 weeks.
“The day after I did my walk-through is when [the roof] started leaking. Apparently it was just terrible up there. Whoever did it just didn’t do a good job,” said Brady.
Despite this obstacle, she has high hopes for the new location. The layout of the new studio provides the Brockport dance school with three studio rooms, a central lobby and a place to display dancewear for sale.
“In our previous studio, we were on the second floor, so you’re walking up 36 stairs and a tiny hallway,” Brady said. “Our office was between two studios, so we could never have a receptionist. There was no room to greet people.”
Another alum of the school, Gabrielle McNeillie, echoes these sentiments. McNeillie danced at the studio when Alexis Mueller, her aunt, owned the school in the 1980s.
“I’m really glad that [Brady]’s opened up a new spot and is expanding. I think that’s wonderful and probably was needed,” said McNeillie.
Currently an assistant professor and dance program coordinator at Central Washington University, McNeillie incorporates the values she learned at her childhood dance school into her current curriculum.
“Something we talk about a lot is how the discipline of dance helps you with your everyday life because there’s a difference between being motivated to do something and being disciplined to do something,” said McNeillie.
According to McNeillie, collaboration, respect and grit are three other life lessons dance teaches people. Leah Brady makes them an integral part of her own classes. Her school does not compete in competitions. Instead they focus on individuality and personal growth.
“If you’re a fabulous dancer by the time you’re done here, that’s awesome, but kindness and confidence in yourself, in your own body, is really at the end of the day all I can ask for,” Brady said.
The school’s new dance season started on Sept. 9, but enrollment is still open. Brady is excited to teach these skills to both returning dancers and new students that may have learned about the opportunity from the location change.
“We’ve grown quite a bit this year. I think it’s the convenience factor,” Brady said.
Dancers and their families are not the only people benefitting from the new space. For nearby residents that have seen 4068 Lake Road N. sit empty for nearly two decades, the dance school is bringing a new face to Brockport.
“It’s been nothing but support from the community,” said Brady.
On the first day of class at the new studio, Brady found a bouquet of flowers and a card left by a neighbor in front of the door. She also noted that Village Board members were excited to hear of her plans for the property.
For Brady, Brockport’s generosity reassured her. Changing the dynamic of Lake Road meant disrupting routines of local residents in more ways than one.
The once quiet and abandoned property now has new life. Through the sounds of rehearsal music and children giggling and the leathery scent of pointe shoes, Brady and Brockport School of Dance and Performing Arts have revitalized their own artistic corner of the community.
