Dance studio pair snags Canton award
The owners of Central City Dance & Fitness have won a major award in Canton
Dance studio pair snags Canton award The owners of Central City Dance & Fitness have won a major award in Canton Check out this story on HometownLife.com: http://www.hometownlife.com/story/news/local/canton/2014/10/10/canton-chamber-business-person/16975331/
Darrell Clem, hometownlife.com Published 12:00 a.m. ET Oct. 10, 2014 | Updated 12:06 a.m. ET Oct. 10, 2014
Chamber President Thomas Paden applauds Tim and Tammy Smola, owners of Central City Dance & Fitness Center, after they won the chamber's Business Persons of the Year award. (Photo: Bill Bresler | staff photographer )Buy Photo
Tammy Smola joked that she and husband Tim, owners of Central City Dance & Fitness of Canton, had become like former daytime soap star Susan Lucci – perennial nominees for a big award that proved elusive.
Their wait – much shorter than Lucci's 19 years – came Wednesday as they clinched the Business Persons of the Year award amid applause from a crowd attending a Canton Chamber of Commerce ceremony at Summit on the Park.
"This is exciting," Tammy Smola said, sealing the win with a kiss from her husband and business partner.
The Smolas have grown their business since 2002 from a dance studio with 350 students to nearly 1,000. They started in a leased, 2,500-square-foot site and now own a place nearly 10 times that size on Canton Center south of Warren.
"They are such wonderful people," Denise Staffeld, longtime chamber activist, said. "They have a heart of gold. They are so selfless."
Attorney Joe Barone, last year's Business Person of the Year, announced the Smolas as winners and said they have built their business into one of Michigan's top dance studios. They added a dance-wear store, a café and six stage-size dance rooms for students ages 3 to adult.
The Smolas already had become Canton's first recipient of the 2011 Distinguished Service to the Arts Award and won the 2009 Community Supporter Award during an annual township ceremony.
"It is determination that moves us forward," Tim Smola said Wednesday, adding later, "I love to dance. I'm passionate about dancing."
Tim Smola has a dance degree from the University of Michigan. He danced in college, throughout the Midwest for the Peter Starling Dance Co. and in places such as Spain and The Fox Theatre in Detroit for Disney.
Even his love for his wife sounds like a line from "Dancing With The Stars."
"She swept me off my feet," Tim Smola said.
The Smolas and their dance studio have been involved in the community through myriad events such as the Canton Grub Crawl, the chamber's Consumer Expo, Liberty Fest, Taste of Canton, the chamber's annual auction, Relay for Life and the Canton Commission for Culture, Arts & Heritage, among numerous other organizations.
Barone said the Smolas have built their career around a foundation of giving back to the community and volunteering their time. They also have performed at hospitals, nursing homes and elementary schools.
The Smolas produce and direct The Central City Christmas Spectacular, a holiday tradition that assembles a talented cast for Broadway-style shows at the Village Theater at Cherry Hill.
They were singled out for their award Wednesday alongside two other nominees, Sharon Rayland Keys of College Nannies & Tutors and Amy Miller of TCF Bank.
Tim Smola called the award "humbling." He and Tammy Smola didn't seem to mind it took them a few nominations to win.
"It's fantastic," she said.
dclem@hometownlife.com
Twitter: @CantonObserver
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