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Taking a final bow

New owner takes over Studio C

By JUSTIN COX
Staff writer
Tara Manners opened the Studio C School of Dance on Aug. 3 of 1997, at the ripe age of just 17 years old. She was to soon to begin classes at UC Davis and, at the recommendation of her father, Noel, planned to teach dance to get through college. As she puts it, “one thing led to another and it turned into what it was”: A licensed dance studio located at the heart of downtown Winters.
Named after the suite address on which it sits, the Studio C School of Dance has been owned and operated by Manners for 11 years. On June 9 however, Studio C changed hands and will now be run by Marissa Wright, a long-time friend of Manners who has taught frequently at the studio in the past.
The first show Manners and Studio C put on was a rendition of the Nutcracker for the winter holidays. The community responded positively and from there the Studio took on a life of its own. Her students soon became a common fixture at both Youth Day and the Earthquake Street Festival and, in conjunction with previous Pizza Factory owner Tracy Parks, they were featured in annual summer and winter shows at the restaurant.
“I wanted my kids exposed to as many performances as they could,” she says.
It’s worth remembering that Manners was only in her late teens and early 20s (and attending college) as she strung these events together. She even got them a show at Disneyland.
“I had danced there once,” she says of the planning. “So I just called them.”
In addition to performing at the Disneyland Hotel and on the Carnation stage inside the park, Studio C once qualified for and performed in the Disneyland Christmas Day Parade.
Manners, after working for some time (while running the studio) in fields relating to multimedia, now works for the Golden Capital Network, a company whose goal is to stimulate economic vitality within communities through the promotion of local entrepreneurship. While her love of dancing and deep ties with Studio C will remain forever strong, she is exercising her many talents happily and comfortably in her new job. And she sees nothing but great things for Studio C in the future.
“It was just time for me to move on,” she says. “I had been doing it since I was 18 and I could no longer give the students everything they deserved.
“I actually called Marissa (Wright, new owner) for insight. And then she told me she’d been really wanting to own a dance studio. It just sort of fell into place; no strategy at all.”
Marissa Wright, at 28 years old, has been dancing for 26 years. In addition to her years of experience, she graduated from Sacramento State with a bachelors degree in theatre, dance and choreography. She has been a member of the Sacramento Black Art of Dance since 1999, right around the time she began teaching classes with Manners at Studio C. She became a regular fixture there in the years that followed.
“The majority of the parents already know who I am,” she says. “I am invested in this studio. It’s precious to me. I’m not here to change anything. We will maintain the same high standard of art through dance.”
Having danced steadily since she was only two, her current opportunity at Studio C represents a personal dream come true.
“Being trained as a studio dancer from the beginning,” she says. “I’ve always wanted my own studio. You can put so much into it. We’ll be keeping the same repertoire, but there’s always room to bring in all kinds of new things. We’re really going to have a good time.”
With Manners having taken her final bow at Studio C, Wright and her students have picked right up on cue and continued right into the next number. Studio C will have many performances throughout the next year, the first of which will take place at this year’s Earthquake Street Festival, planned for Friday, Aug. 22, on downtown Main Street, 5-11 p.m.. Studio C dancers will perform at 5:30 p.m.
Contact Wright, 795-1900, for more information about Studio C School of Dance.