BLOOMFIELD HILLS — Fred Astaire Dance Studio was named Top Overall Studio 2013 for its 36-studio region in a national franchise event.
Megadance, the name for the largest region of studios in the Fred Astaire company, includes Detroit, Washington, D.C., San Diego, Denver, Minneapolis, Durham, N.C., Greensboro, N.C., Charleston, S.C., Portland, Ore., and Pasadena, Calif., among a few others. Michigan’s only Fred Astaire franchise, located in Bloomfield Hills, was named top studio for 2013 as well as top studio for attracting new students.
Additionally, the metro Detroit studio franchise won the corporation’s Outstanding Achievement Award for growing by the highest percentage in 2013, a record 60 percent. Also, among its staff, this franchise’s instructor, Talia Barrington, was named Top Teacher Specialist for enrolling and teaching more new students than any other teacher in the region last year.
“I am so proud to be leading the region in business and in reach,” says Evan Mountain, who opened the studio with his wife Lada in 2006. “Our students and instructors find that dancing is a great way to express their creativity, get exercise and connect with others in a deeper way. This is exactly what I hoped for when I opened this studio.”
Ballroom dance is big business, with leading TV shows such as Dancing with the Stars and So You Think You Can Dance piquing the public’s interest. Studios abound nationwide, with Fred Astaire as one franchise that emphasizes professionalism among its instructors.
Last year, Fred Astaire Dance Studio here in Michigan received a record number of calls from corporations interested in featuring instructors at their holiday parties as a different form of entertainment. This year, the studio will be reaching out to businesses to offer ballroom dance as an option for corporate team-building retreats.
Learn more at redastaireofbloomfieldhills.com.