Interview Q&A
How long have you been in business?
The dance school was founded over 21 years ago by sisters, Blake Bartlett-Dunn and Heather Bartlett-Kohberger.
What is your primary product or service?
Clogging Connection @ City Center Dance is a nonprofit, educational organization dedicated to the promotion and preservation of the heritage of clogging, as well as other dance and art forms.
How did you first become interested in your line of business? (if owner) - What is your background? (If owner or store manager)
The dance school was founded by sisters, Blake Bartlett-Dunn and Heather Bartlett-Kohberger who have been teaching together since the young ages of 12 and 14. The after-school hobby that began in their basement dance school more than 21 years ago has evolved into a successful career and lifelong commitment to dancing, instructing, and performing.
Blake and Heather grew up in clogging. They, along with their oldest sister, Tamara, began dancing at the ages of 5, 7 and 9 as an after school hobby. Within a few years, the sisters were dancing on competition clogging teams. Throughout their childhood, they danced on teams together, as well as on opposing teams, often going head-to-head for championship titles. Their father had built the girls a practice dance school in their basement, but Blake, Heather and Tamara found the dance school to be more than a place to practice.
By 1988, the three girls had begun teaching clogging lessons out of their basement dance school to younger girls in their neighborhood, and from their church and school. It was not long after that the sisters introduced to the clogging world their very own competition team, the Southern Belles. As time went by, the program outgrew their basement dance school, Tamara moved on to college, and then marriage and family life, and in 1995, Blake and Heather opened the City Center Dance Dance School in Snellville, Georgia.
Blake, Heather and Tamara are members of the national Clogging Leaders Organization (C.L.O.G.), The Clogging Champions of America (CCA), and of the Georgia Clogging Leaders Association (GCLA). Blake and Heather are also nationally Certified Clogging Instructors (CCI). All three of these ladies have the utmost commitment to not only their dance school, but also to their profession.
How do you differentiate yourself from other businesses in your category and area?
City Center Dance educates dancers of all ages in the metropolitan Atlanta area and provides a forum to exhibit the dancers’ skills. This forum stimulates the dancers to achieve the highest possible standard of artistic excellence. The City Center Dance also serves the community as it shares its dancers’ achievements at community and civic functions.
The City Center Dance strives not only to provide dancers the opportunity to improve their skill and talent within the classroom, but also to build their confidence outside of the dance school. City Center Dance firmly believes that if we can teach dancers to perform, we can change their lives. Every dancer is encouraged to set high goals and to continually strive to meet them. Whether it is to perform in local festivals or to travel throughout the nation, or even overseas, these dancers learn to be proud of their talent and to share it with the world.
How many locations do you have and do you have plans to expand?
City Center Dance has recently expanded its studio capacity at a new location. The new studio boasts approximately 1,400 square feet of dance space with two separate dance rooms. Both rooms have floor to ceiling mirrored walls and floating dance floors with a special PVC-type covering.
Provide detailed directions to your location
City Center Dance is located at 2415 Heritage Village, Suite 3, Snellville, GA 30078. To view this address on Google Maps, please refer to the map below -
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What type of payments do you accept?
City Center Dance currently accepts cash, checks or credit cards (Visa, MasterCard or Discover) for tuition payments.
Which areas do you service?
City Center Dance educates dancers of all ages in the metropolitan Atlanta area.
Who owns your company or runs daily operations?
City Center Dance is owned and operated by sisters Blake Bartlett-Dunn and Heather Bartlett-Kohberger.
What are your hours of operation?
City Center Dance studio is typically open Mondays, Tuesdays, and Thursdays from 4pm-9:30pm and for special events on weekends. Dance class times vary. Please refer to the studio calendar the website for specific class times - http://www.cloggingconnection.com/calendar.html or call the studio at (770) 736-3600.