Moving into the Pittsburgh Mills mall went so well for Marianne Rieg that her dance studio, Twirl Time, grew to fill two storefronts serving 200 kids.
Covid-19 changed that.
Her studio shut down in March. Although the Frazer mall reopened, its earlier closing time didn’t work for her business, primarily active in the evenings.
“I just kind of lost everything we had,” Rieg said.
Rieg looked for a new home and found The Clement, a former church and school on Tarentum’s West Ninth Avenue, where she opened Aug. 31.
“I’m really loving being where I am,” she said. “Tarentum is an old community. I feel like this landlord is trying to bring life renovating buildings. The mission of my studio has always been to connect with the community. We avoid the commercialism, and we try to serve the kids and families.”
Adding Twirl Time Studio has brought a lot of energy to The Clement, according to its owner, Phillip Rhodes. He bought the former St. Clement Church and School at an auction in 2015.
Other tenants there are doing yoga, guitar lessons and after-school tutoring.
“We have a very nice community going in our building,” Rhodes said. “Even without me being in the middle, they’re talking, working things out and helping each other out. It’s a neat thing to see.”
Rieg, 53, of West Deer started Twirl Time seven years ago. It offers baton twirling, gymnastics, tumbling and pom for children from age 3 to college age.
She moved to the mall in 2015, back when she said it was still pretty busy. The second storefront opened in 2016.
“It was wonderful. It was amazing,” Rieg said of moving into the mall. “Without having to really advertise, we grew from 60 students to 170 in a year and a half.
“I had everything just perfect at the mall.”
Rieg said she didn’t want to leave the mall but had to do it.
“I was really thrilled and proud to be at the mall,” she said. “The bottom line is, I had to leave because of covid.”
In looking for a new location, Rieg said she confined her search to within range of the mall. The Clement met that requirement and another — high ceilings, at least 70 feet, for the baton twirlers.
At The Clement, operating during the covid-19 pandemic means social distancing and wearing face masks.
“We’re mask proud,” Rieg said.
Now with about 90 students, Rieg is hoping to rebuild her student base back to what it was and grow again.
“We want to continue to support families in the community,” she said.
