Dance Stop Studios to close in East Cobb after 52 years

A couple of years after marking its 50th year milestone, Dance Stop Studios in East Cobb announced over the weekend that it will be permanently closing soon.

The business posted a message on its Facebook page over the weekend saying that that final recitals and classes will be winding down in May.

“While our decision is bittersweet, the time has come for us to retire and move to the next chapter of our lives,” according to the message from co-owners Lynette Strickland and Richard Grubb.

“We had hoped to find someone to move the studio forward, but unfortunately, this has not yet happened. We hope everyone will continue to pursue their love for dance.”

Strickland founded the school in a small former house in East Marietta near the Big Chicken in 1974 and moved more than a dozen years ago to space at Merchants Exchange Shopping Center on Roswell Road.

“We’ve outgrown every place we had,” she told East Cobb News at Dance Stop’s 50th anniversary celebration in 2023. “As East Cobb came out this way, we did too.”

Dance Stop adapted to the times and adjusted through COVID-19 closures, and added former students to her teaching and operations staff in more recent years.

Dance Stop set up a non-profit foundation to conduct auditions and hold performances for the public at larger venues, as well as at assisted living centers and for special community events.

“We have had the privilege of serving the East Cobb community in dance education for past 52 years,” Strickland and Grubb wrote. “We treasure the friendships and memories we have made.

“We will truly miss our Dance Stop family! We love all our students, present and past, and our fantastic staff.”

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