Born to dance: Grand opening of Bonita Springs studio is owner's dream come true

Sarah Zecchino was born to dance.

She celebrated the grand opening of her new studio space on Saturday, March 11, five years after she first opened her dance school, Bourne 2 Dance, a play on her maiden name. The old studio was a dream come true for Zecchino, brought to fruition by her now husband, Mike Zecchino, who dance students call "Mr. Sarah."
“It was a Christmas surprise,” Mike Zecchino said during the grand opening celebration of the new space.

Just over five years ago, the dance studio Sarah taught at closed down suddenly, leaving her and the other teachers, and dance students, without a home.

Within a few weeks, on Christmas Day, he blindfolded her and handed her the keys to a small one-room studio in Bonita Springs, the doors wrapped in Christmas paper.

Bourne 2 Dance had 19 students its first year. Now, the school boasts 130 students.

“This has been years in the making,” Sarah Zecchino said of her new space.

She’s been dancing since she was younger than 3 years old. She went on to dance in college in Buffalo, New York.

“Dance has always been my life,” she said.

At one point, when she first moved to Florida, Sarah Zecchino took a little more than a year off from dancing. She felt miserable.

“I felt so lost,” she said.

Her old Bourne 2 Dance studio was a little room of about 1,300 square feet of space, a tiny office and a sitting room. The new space in Bonita Springs is just shy of 5,000 square feet, with three rooms for dance classes, an office, a break room, a sitting room and a second-floor observatory room for parents to watch classes.

The walls are painted in soft blues, and pink pictures of dancers decorate the walls. The Zecchinos did all the work that didn't require a permit, they said.
“I wanted it be a second home for my dancers,” Sarah Zecchino said.

If the kids are having a bad day, they can leave it at the door and feel at home, she said.

Another plus for the bigger studio is scheduling classes is easier, she said.

The studio can offer private lessons, rehearsals for upcoming competitions, and even sprinkle in some adult dance classes — such as Hip Hop and Pop Pilates — all at the same time. Sarah Zecchino said she wants to start a Silver Sneakers program for the older dance enthusiasts. 
“It’s much better for scheduling,” said Amalia Cuevas, a so-called "dance mom." Her daughter, 14-year-old Valerie, has been with Sarah Zecchino since the beginning.

Another dance mom, Brandie Dumas, also followed Sarah to the new studio five years ago.

“Private lessons are easier (in the new studio) – more convenient,” Dumas said.

According to Mike Zecchino, the bigger space was something he and Sarah Zecchino had planned for a while. They dove in as soon as they had enough students to sustain the bigger space, they said.

Sarah Zecchino also has four other teachers who lead dance lessons at the space.

“The old space – you couldn’t do two things at once in there,” she said. Mike Zecchino said he has watched his wife grow into a role model for her students and he loves seeing her so passionate about her dancers.

“She loves it. To her, it’s not a business, it’s family."

The new dance studio offers classes for students between the ages of 2 to 18 in ballet, pointe, tap, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, African and more. Bourne 2 Dance is located at 24850 Old 41 Road, Suite #23, Bonita Springs.

For more information visit www.Bourne2Dance.com or call 239-495-3100.