Ballet Barres and Marley - St. Cloud School of Dance Testimonial

Dance has been a family business for as long as Susan Arnold can remember. Her mother started St. Cloud School of Dance and Ultimate Gymnastics a year before the now 64-year-old studio owner was born. Now, with three children and eight grandchildren of her own, Susan, still receives help running the studio from her sister and two of her daughters while six of her grandkids study dance at her studio in central Minnesota.

Focusing primarily on ballet, St. Cloud School of Dance and Ultimate Gymnastics also offers classes in lyrical, pointe, tap, jazz and hip hop styles of dance, so it needs a flooring that it versatile enough to handle various forms.

Having tested out Rosco Adagio marley flooring at a studio in nearby Brainerd, Minn., Susan knew what she had to get when she needed new dance flooring. So she equipped her newest ballet room with the Adagio flooring from Greatmats and put it over a layer of Greatmats' 3/8-inch thick plyometric rubber for slight cushion. She says her entire family loves the new floor, noting that it was well worth the investment.

In addition to the flooring, Susan also added several 9 foot portable barres that she also found on Greatmats.com.

''Greatmats was so helpful,'' she said. ''I got the product that I wanted and the service that I wanted. ... We're a very ballet oriented studio. The technique is very important to us. The ballet barres and the floor just brought a new look to our facility.''

Known for its quality instruction, St. Cloud School of Dance and Ultimate Gymnastics has produced students who have gone on to make the national team for Miss Minnesota and even coached the top ranked University of Minnesota dance team.

''We have wonderful ballet instructors, and now we have the products to serve their dancers in a professional environment,'' Susan said.

Susan Arnold

St. Cloud School of Dance and Ultimate Gymnastics

St. Cloud MN 56301