Last weekend, Los Angeles Ballet launched their 2024 season, the first full season programmed by Melissa Barak with plenty of new work to be excited about.
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Millennium Dance Complex the L.A. studio where class videos regularly rack up millions of views on YouTube is fortunate, said founder AnnMarie Hudson. Unlike a number of dance studios across L.A. that permanently closed during the pandemic, Millennium has been able to hold on for more than a year by following an unconventional strategy.
“We decided to totally close, not do anything underground and just really put the safety of ourselves and our dancers first and really comply,” Hudson said. “That was kind of hard, especially when other people were opening.”
Some factors that helped the studio persevere? A landlord who is postponing the studio’s $22,000 monthly rent payments, PPP loans totaling more than $110,000, the launch of a subscription-based platform for dance tutorials, and the studio’s nearly 30-year legacy and global brand with franchises in cities including Las Vegas, Nashville and Shanghai.