Rebuild Roundhill Studios

On May 25 around 2:50 am, a 5-alarm fire broke out in the Santa Clara strip mall that is home to Roundhill Dance Studios. Eight small businesses burned to the ground. Roundhill was partially saved by the firewall and fire crews fought back the fire from its roof; however, tremendous fire, water and structural damage were done to the building.

The timing could not have been worse. Young aspiring dance students have been working towards their annual Spring show: The Maiden’s Visit. The studio is where hundreds of dancers come to learn, rehearse, and prepare themselves for stage performances of all types of dance forms: ballet, flamenco, Irish, Hindi, and martial arts to name a few. And that has all but been lost.  

Because of the fire and subsequent water damage, Roundhilll is without power and without running water in the final weeks leading up to the June 18 production. There has also been significant smoke damage to the hundreds of costumes needed to put on the full ballet. Further, the other dance classes have been put on hold until further notice.

 The studio will need to relocate and rebuild for the show to go on. And the show will go on – with your help. NBC Bay Area reports about the challenges.  

 
For over thirty years, Donna Maruoka, owner of Roundhill Studios , has made her studio a place where dancers – young and old - can be a part of a supportive community that shares a commone love for dance. She works full time as a dental hygienist and runs Roundhill in the evenings and the weekends. Dance is her passion, not her profit. The devastation from the fire has dealt the community a setback but it will recover – with your help.

 "We all have our dream of running our own businesses and providing services to whatever our clientele is," Maruoka said. "And the years and the hours and the money and the effort that go into running a small business is tremendous. And the rewards are great. But when something like this happens, all of your dreams, all of your goals, all of your hard work is absolutely destroyed. In hours, it's all gone.”

Please Donate to Help Rebuild Roundhill and to help all the dancers it supports get back to making joy, to get back to dancing. 


For more information about the fire, please see the Mercury News report and the KTVU report.