THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Monday, June 10, 1996 TAG: 9606080178
SECTION: BUSINESS WEEKLY PAGE: 11 EDITION: FINAL
TYPE: Cover Story
SOURCE: BY DEBBIE MESSINA, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: VIRGINIA BEACH LENGTH: 59 lines
Golden Slippers Dance Academy is not just about little girls in tutus and toe shoes.
It's a family-oriented arts center that not only teaches traditional classes in ballet, tap, jazz, and modern dance, but also karate, gymnastics, acting, ballroom dancing, hip hop and Jazzercize.
``A family could come one night and everyone would have something to do,'' said Susan Browney Moyer, 40, said of her Golden Slippers Performing Arts Center on North Lynnhaven Road. ``We are a full service company. We have so many things that don't compete with dance but are an extension of dance.
``I think that makes us different.''
Other dance studios in the area concentrate on traditional dance, or specialize in ballroom dancing, or are exclusively exercise salons.
Golden Slippers does all that, and a little more.
The concept of providing a range of artistic outlets was a long-time dream of Browney Moyer, who started Golden Slippers Dance Academy as a part-time studio almost 20 years ago with a $3,500 loan co-signed by her father. Today, Golden Slippers has seven locations in the region, employs 24 people and has about 1,500 students.
Still, her proudest achievement is the 4-year-old Performing Arts Center which would not be what it is today without the support, and sweat, of its dancers and their parents. Browney Moyer bought the well-worn, 11,000-square-foot building and hired a contractor to renovate it. But money ran out quickly after demolishing walls and buying materials.
So Browney Moyer's loyal ballerinas and tap dancers traded their delicate toe shoes and tap shoes for steel-toe boots and began hammering, sawing, plumbing, painting and wallpapering. Their parents pitched in too.
It took six months, but their teamwork transformed the former home for the mentally disabled to a first-rate dance salon with studios, exercise rooms and a ballroom.
``I can really feel the love in this studio,'' Browney Moyer said. ``I really care about them and I think that makes them care about me too.''
Tall and willowy, Browney Moyer is an accomplished performer herself. Despite offers to dance professionally, she pursued teaching instead. ``That's a tough life,'' she said. ``I knew that was not the life I wanted to lead.''
Instead, Browney Moyer devoted countless hours to build a dance academy that is the largest in Virginia Beach and one of the largest in the state. While running the business eats up most of her time, Browney Moyer continues to teach classes, primarily tap.
Some of her students have advanced to stage careers. This year, a 9-year-old girl has been accepted to the premiere Joffrey Ballet Co. in New York and is moving there with her family. Other former students are instructors at her studio. MEMO: [Related stories on pages 10 and 11.] ILLUSTRATION: MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN
The Virginian-Pilot
Susan Browney Moyer
KEYWORDS: SMALL BUSINESS by CNB