Teachers turn offices into dance academy
Two women have joined forces to help transform a former council office space into a dance academy for the community.
Sisters-in-law Heather Rennie, 46, and Jill Rennie, 52, have launched Rennie Dance Academy, in Newmarket Street, Ayr.
The hard-working duo recently signed a lease to take on the former South Ayrshire Council office space and spent seven weeks re-configuring and refurbishing it.
New life has now been breathed into the former offices which have lain empty for nearly a decade.
The arrival of the new academy not only spells good news for the business sector in Newmarket Street but also ends a somewhat nomadic existence for Heather and Jill.
The academy had been in Ayr since January 2018 and operated from temporary studio spaces.
However, now Heather and Jill have a place to call home.
Heather, who is also a teacher in Ayr, said: “It’s been a leap of faith in the current climate.
“But we opened our doors on Monday, May 10 after another long lockdown since November
2020, and after a seven-week major refurbishment on what was once upon-a-time a building that
South Ayrshire Council formerly used. We waited many months for our new premises to get the go ahead from the council and we couldn’t be happier with the results.”
Jill worked as a professional dancer for 20 years and her late mum Margo was a ballet teacher with Ayr’s Dansarena.
She said: “We’ve been in Ayr since 2018, renting studio space from a couple of locations and this is the first time we actually have a place that is our own.
“The space we have was used by the council but it lay empty for the last eight to 10 years.
“Newmarket Street is a prime location with many exciting plans for the future.”
Half of the refurbishment work is complete but the plan going forward is to offer four studios within the academy so that Heather and Jill can increase their current timetable and accommodate as many students as possible.
They teach a multitude of dance styles such as ballet, tap, modern jazz, musical theatre, acrobatic arts, lyrical jazz and more.
Heather added: “Newmarket Street is a lovely street to be on and there are lots of new businesses opening, so it’s great to be part of it.”