An Aberdeen dance instructor has finally found her perfect studio after a 20 year hunt – a former bar in Torry.
The Old Campbell Bar in Torry has been transformed into Sharon Gill’s Dance Academy.
Ms Gill has been a dance instructor for 32 years, and for the last 20 years has mainly taught at Hanover Community Centre. However exams, competitions and extra dance sessions had to be held elsewhere.
But now Ms Gill has thrown open the doors to her very own studio, and held a special open day over the weekend.
It has been a ‘long old process’
She said she was overwhelmed now the building was finished. She said that “turning a bar into a dance studio was not an easy renovation” and had been a “long old process”.
“It’s not been an easy route but we’d set our heart on it and we didn’t want to give up,” she added. “We put our heart and soul into it and we went too far down the line to walk away so every obstacle or every hoop we had to jump through we just did it. And we got it in the end.”
While her partner did a lot of the renovation, Ms Gill said it was a “real family effort” as many parents of dancers who attend and the dancers themselves pitched in to help.
The 51-year-old added: “To finally get to do it and to finally give my kids something that they deserve and the people that have supported me for the last 32 years. It’s pay back time.”
There are two dance studios in the building, which are run by a team of dance teachers including Ms Gill’s daughter.
While there will be dance lessons for all ages and levels, Ms Gill hopes the building will be also used for events such as meetings and one-off occasions.