Moray Dance secures future with move to Moray Sports Centre after community centre displacement
A GROUP which has taught thousands of children how to dance over its 13 year existence has secured its future with a move to Moray Sports Centre.
Moray Dance has operated out of Elgin Community Centre for more than a decade, offering affordable classes led by fully qualified and insured teachers to families across the region.
However, in June they were informed that the centre will be closed in 2024 as it is "no longer a viable facility" and that they would need to find an alternative space.
The decision came as a blow to the group with its long term future and the jobs of its teachers and administrator put at risk. It would also mean the end of classes for the 250 children the group currently teaches.
But after much searching, Moray Sports Centre was identified as the perfect space and the group have now made the move permanently.
Rosalyn Wie, who founded Moray Dance in 2010, says finding an alternative venue is a "huge relief".
She said: "It's a huge relief for several reasons. I had a huge weight on my shoulders because I'm handing over the majority of everything to do with the group to my daughter.
"Obviously, I really didn't want to hand over a sinking ship after having such a successful business for so many years.
"We still had until March next year to get sorted but once we found this place and realised that if we didn't take it with both hands, it could be very difficult so we terminated our notice with the community centre.
"We just said that, as we were going to be kicked out anyway, we thought we had to jump before we were pushed."
Other users of the community centre have yet to find alternative spaces with some claiming at a meeting of Elgin Community Council earlier this month that Moray Council has been unhelpful in their efforts to support groups.
Ms Wie says Moray Dance have been lucky to find an alternative space and echoed the feelings of other community centre users.
"We've been extremely fortunate," She said. "Moray Sports Centre will be able to accommodate our Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Saturday classes and we'll even get things we didn't have in the past.
"But when we spoke to Moray Council before we found Moray Sports Centre we asked what kind of support they would give us and they said they would help identify possible venues.
"They suggested some schools and the schools couldn't take us so that was the help we had.
"I feel that Moray Council have let us down and Elgin down very badly."
