Gay 90’s weekend was full of miracles for the  Downtown Studio.  With the new building, there was hurried construction  to build partitions. Amazing construction volunteers Kyle  Smith and Jeff Taylor put up the partition walls in the nick  of time for Gay 90’s. Coquille Supply generously provided  materials at a significant discount to help the sprouting program.  On Friday morning, no one could guess the transformation  about to happen. Walls still needed mudding and paint.  More shelves and leftover junk needed to be stored away.

Carpets and floors were caked with drywall dust and mud.  Uncovered floors had years of dust and grime. Then came  the magical volunteers Teresa Riley, Hailey Riley, Angelina  Perkins, Sarai Perkins, Tom Riley, Sam Huffman and many  others. Tom and Sam, despite being only 5 and 8 years old,  were scrubbing the carpet with scrub brushes. Jeff Taylor  painted walls and as the paint was drying, Eli Alander and  Elizabeth Hanson set up a gift shop/art gallery whose 20%  commission will support the Downtown Studio. By midnight,  the place was completely transformed, clean and  ready to tour.  Saturday, the Downtown Studio bustled with activity as  ballerinas and karate students gathered to put on costumes  and uniforms in preparation of the parade. A beautiful banner  made by Anastasia Savenkova and the students from  Lincoln Elementary School second grade classes during a  Wednesday field trip was placed on a pole to be carried.

During the parade, dancers and karate students had fun  waving to the crowd. Hip hop dancer Jamal Jackson entertained  the crowd with his cartwheels and daring front and  back flips.  Many people came to see the  transformation of Barrow’s Drug  Store to the Downtown Studio.  Face painting and a bake sale out  front helped support the program as  they went to classes for donations  only. The goal is that finances never  be a barrier and for everyone to  enjoy dance, art and education  enhancement.  Inside, kids enjoyed the toddler play area and everyone  enjoyed the demonstrations of the ballet dance and martial  arts. Chess players were available to take on challengers.

$10 sponsorships of a square foot of the future 777 square  foot dance floor were taken from the public in hopes to  have a full dance floor next fall for tap and ballet. Some of  the square foot segments have prizes generously donated by  the following organizations: Granite Plus Inc, Les Schwab,  Samm’s Haircare, Eden Valley Naturals Inc, Farr’s,  Truffles, Yu’s Dynasty, Apple Blossom Antiques, Collen’s,  Coquille Garden, Figaro’s, The Pet Stop, Gentle Groomer,  Milk E Way, Coquille Valley Produce, U Bathe Dog  Groomer, Woof & Warp, The Hat Shop, Coquille Martial  Arts, Bree’s Upscale Resale.  The second miracle was Sunday as the First Annual  Community Highlights Recital and Talent Show was held at  the Community Building Large Auditorium. The young  ballerinas put on a marvelous and adorable show despite the  class only being in existence for three months. Singing talents  demonstrated that local talent here would be serious  contenders for American Idol

There were powerful  demonstrations of martial art skills and some beautiful tap,  lyrical and hip hop dancing. It was a show that will be hard  to top in the future although the Downtown Studio plans to  be even better during their next Community Highlights  show tentatively scheduled for October.  Then it was time to dance the night away as the Coos  Bay Dancers took to the floor for the first annual Ballroom  Party. Many audience members stuck around for a free lesson  to learn some Swing dancing. With the disco ball lighting  up the floor, the Coos Bay Dancers and anyone who  wanted to join in had fun learning and showing their skills.  Nina Savenkova sponsored free ice cream for the group.  Although scheduled to last to midnight, it was 11 when  everyone turned into pumpkins and left to go home for  sleep.