New Barrie dance studio aiming to be safe place for learning new styles

A new dance studio in Barrie is working to provide access to a wide variety of dances to people of all levels of experience.

Uptempo Barrie is one of the newest studios in Barrie, having officially started operations in September 2022. Founder Deanna Stephens says she was looking to fill a void in terms of providing instruction to a variety of paired types of dances, from ballroom to various Latin styles of dance.

"Dance is as far as I'm concerned one of the best activities that you can do," says Stephens. "It's a fun way to get exercise, it's a great way to meet new people and be social even when life is busy. I personally found it very difficult transitioning from university to adult life. I didn't know how to meet people, I didn't know how to make new friends and dance was my solution."

The group met Monday night at The Ranch, capitalizing on connections Stephens had with management of the facility.

In addition to teaching various styles of dance the studio also offers choreography for wedding dances. While many of the classes do require a partner, many people show up alone and are matched on site.

"It's been an overwhelming response," says Stephens. "People are really eager to dance in the area and it's going really well. Classes are filling up and we're able to offer more and more classes and we're expanding into other dances and it's really exciting!"

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