Dance company needs help renovating new studio 

Megan Suitor 
 
Local not-for-profit private company Epic Acrobatics and Dance Association is reaching out for
support from Redwater and the surrounding community. The Redwater-based dance school is in
its third season of operation and recently had to lease a new space.  
 
“There are lots of multipurpose spaces in Redwater, but we run lessons from 3 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
every weekday, and from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends,” shared Trista Gable, co-director of
Epic. “We found a commercial space and signed a lease, but it is designed for office use, not a
dance studio, so renovating a 3600 square foot space is expensive.” 
 
The larger and more dedicated space is allowing Epic to offer more programs to more students.
The dance club has grown from 19 dancers to over 50 dancers competing at a solo, duet, and
group level. Last year, 20 classes were offered, and starting in September, 61 classes per week
will be available.  
 
Students are attending from all around the region, including some students travelling with their
parents from over an hour away. 
 
“We’re being seen as a good dance studio that people want to travel for,” shared Lesley
Bourassa, co-director of Epic. “These families are travelling here and then spending hours in
Redwater while their children attend lessons, benefiting the entire community.” 
 
The new space is being designed and renovated to showcase the quality of dance instruction
that Epic is bringing to Redwater. Not only will there be two dedicated lesson rooms, both with a
sprung dance floor, but the space will also include a room for students to hang out or do
homework between lessons or while siblings are having lessons. 
 
The directors of Epic have been working extremely hard through the summer to make this new
space a reality for all of the dancers.  
 
“We both have full time-day jobs,” shared Gable. “We have been working on the renovation, the
summer dance programming, the registration and the scheduling for the new session.” 
 
To complete the renovations at the dance studio is going to cost a minimum of $50,000. The
space needs sprung flooring with proper vinyl dance flooring, all new lighting and mirrors, and
that doesn’t include the basic renovation materials such as paint. 
 
“Thorhild Co-op has been amazing,” said Gable. “We reached out to him, (Thorhild North
Corridor Co-operative’s Home and Building Solutions Division Manager, Jonathan Alyward),
and he got back to us within the day with quotes and discounts on materials. We have also
received support from Dodi at Redwater Home Hardware.” 
 
Bourassa has been applying for grants and sponsorships, and a partnership package for sponsors has
already been distributed to over 100 local businesses.
 
“We will have a sponsorship wall at the new studio,” said Bourassa. “We are also working on
getting a website up and running, and we will have a sponsor’s link on it.” 
 

Parents of studio dancers have also rallied to provide support. A bottle drive was held, as well
as a BBQ, at which IGA generously donated all of the food. A Go Fund Me has also been set up
to help raise the money needed for the renovation. 
 
“We have lots of people willing to do the labour, it’s just covering the costs of the material,”
explained Gable. “We’re reaching out desperately to families, friends and local businesses.  We
know there will be a happy ending, but there is a lot of work, and it’s very stressful.” 
 
Registration is now open for lessons, with Fall 2023 classes resuming on September 18.

 
To support the studio, the address for the Go Fund Me page is https://gofund.me/1d0c1dac