Dance studio floods; owner seeks help

WATERTOWN, N.Y. (WWNY) - After this week’s rain, a dance studio on Mill Street in Watertown is left flooded, and the owner is scrambling to salvage her business.

You could see rain water pouring into Dance World Friday. The heavy rains this week destroyed the floor. The electricity had to be turned off and no classes can be held.

“I don’t know how I am going to recover from this. It’s pretty devastating,” said Cindy Babel, the owner. “I have taught hundreds of kids and I have devoted my whole life to my studio here in Watertown.”

Babel said she was in the process of fixing the roof, but with days of rain, the tarps put in place as temporary protection didn’t hold up. Babel worries that 36 years of work is going down the drain.

“We ran out of good weather and now we are starting from square one,” she said.

In the meantime, the studio will have some of its classes at the Ramada Inn on outer Arsenal Street. Staff says that they are looking for help from the community to get the studio back open.

“She has touched a lot of people’s hearts and I would love to see the community come together and show her support the way she’s been supporting the community all these years,” said Sarah Thomas, parent of a Dance World student.

Parents plan to get together this weekend to clean up the mess and try to get the building’s roof replaced.

“We have all the roofing material, we just need some man power to help get the wet insulation stripped off and the new roofing put on,” Babel said.

Babel says anyone who wants to lend a helping hand can call her at 315-771-7181.

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