TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTWO/WAWV) — Nancy Sauer School of Theatrical Dancing has been working on renovations since June, and their final project is finishing up just in the knick-of-time.
The studio has been in the same building for the past 71 years, since it opened its doors under the original ownership of Nancy Sauer.
After all these years they are finally seeing change to the structure and to the inside of the building after winning and receiving a grant from the United Way Small Business Program.
Joshua Brown and Harry Gordon, owners and operators of Project Underway, have been working all summer long on this project and had a lot to get done before they opened the doors for fall dance classes.
“We did new windows, new chandelier, new lights, new celling fan, new celling; new beautiful celling, the celling alone is definitely the eye catcher and the chandelier I like that chandelier a lot,” said Brown and Gordon.
The owner Wende Personette attended the studio as a young adult and then was offered to buy it in 1999. She knew how much the grant would help the studio out in more ways than one.
“I didn’t really know much about it; I saw a little blurb about it and was like ‘let me try’. I went to a meeting to see what it was all about and then I completed an application and then found out that we were receiving the grant in December of 2024,” said Personette.
All the dancers have initialed their name on an old originally brick wall that dates back decades, which shows the love and loyalty the dance studio receives year after year.
“It’s mixed emotions, because the studio means so much to so many people and it looked the same for so long and in some ways it hard to make changes,” said Personette. “It’s also 2025 and we know that updates needed to be made.”
To people walking by, may just see a building with some new renovations, but to the people inside the building they know the legacy of Nancy Sauer who started this dance studio back in 1953. Sauer would be proud of how far this studio has come.
Personette also added that she is ” honored and grateful to have been chosen to receive this grant.”
If you would still like to sign up your child for dance classes, you can visit the link here.
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