January's heavy storms continue to have a heavy impact on many local businesses. One of them is the Nexus Dance Studio in the SLO Public Market, which was hit hard by flooding.
Alicia Aragon is the founder and owner of Nexus Dance Studio, a space for dancers aged 12 and up to connect with one another through their shared love of ballroom dancing, swing, salsa and much more.
Aragon said she saw a need for a studio in the area, not only for herself, but for the community as well.
“During COVID, I was given the time and space to reevaluate. I really wanted to bring dancing back into the forefront of my life, but there was not an adult dance studio here on the Central Coast, so I decided to make one.”
Since its opening in March of 2022, there have been two separate floods that have affected Aragon’s business; One in October and the other last month. She said they both took her by surprise.
“One was from a pipe bursting from above us and this last one a few weeks ago with the storms. With all of the ground water rising, it completely destroyed our dance floor," Aragon said. “I didn’t know this either, but apparently concrete is somewhat porous; there was so much groundwater rising that it actually came up through the concrete.”
Nexus dance teacher Chris Ellwood has been with the studio from the beginning. He said the Aragon family invested in the best floor, because that is the most crucial part to any dance studio.
“Alicia invested in a top of the line dance floor, which is the premiere you can get. It has cushioning and a lot of other elements,” Ellwood said. “But the thing about a hardwood floor is that water will ruin it.”
So much groundwater came up during the storms that it took weeks to pump it all out of the basement.
Taylor Powell, a project manager at SLO Public Market, said they have been helping with the damages, but there is only so much they can do given their role.
“We are kind of like a tenant and landlord relationship, but we are a little bit overbearing. We help market them, help with events, [and] we try to keep them afloat because our success depends on their success," Powell said.
Even with help from the Public Market, the Aragon family will still have to pay out of pocket, because they did not have the proper flood insurance that would have protected them from a natural disaster like this one.
This is something that Aragon said was a learning experience for her and her family.
“My family and I put an incredible amount of savings and sweat equity into that floor, and it's devastating to see it gone just like that. Had I known I would’ve thought a lot harder about my insurance,” Aragon said. “My insurance carrier did not recommend this type of insurance. I had no idea it was even a specific type of insurance you had to get apart from your business insurance.”
Right now Nexus is still in business, just not at its original location in the basement of the SLO Public Market. Instead, the classes are currently being held wherever there is open space available at the Market. Aragon said she hopes to move back to the basement soon.
“We’re in the process of trying to find a new floor. We’re going to try to get the best floor we can with our budgetary constraints — we’re hoping by the end of February we can put this nightmare behind us.”
Ellwood and other Nexus dance teachers are raising money via GoFundMe to help get the studio back to what it was before.
“We set the goal for $25,000," Ellwood said. We’re trying to rally people to help the studio that has helped us so much. I see this as a temporary hurdle. It's a big hurdle right now, but I think with enough energy and passion and awareness of what’s happened, the studio can recover and maybe even be stronger and better because of it.”
Aragon and Ellwood said repairing their dance space is important not just to their business but to the community, because dancing is an art form meaningful to so many people.
The KCBX Arts Beat is made possible by a grant from the Community Foundation of San Luis Obispo County.
