With ten years at 87 South Main Street, the Newtown Centre of Classical Ballet & Voice recently celebrated expanding into an adjacent suite with a ribbon cutting on October 19.

According to Tory Gozzi, who took over ownership of the business in 2013 and moved it to its current location in 2014, the extra space afforded by expanding into the adjacent suite will give more time for vocal lessons as well as allowing the business to expand to piano and guitar lessons.

Prior to the expansion, Gozzi said that voice lessons had to end by 4:15 each day so that the ballet lessons could begin, effectively limiting the lessons to just a few hours each day after kids get out of school. Now, the business has more time for Gozzi to give voice lessons, and even bring on a second instructor, and hire instructors for piano and guitar.

Piano and guitar lessons allow the vocal students to “get skills that help them become well-rounded musicians.”

“We have doubled our footprint to provide additional rehearsal space and two new music classrooms for our private and group voice classes and new classical piano and guitar faculty,” said Gozzi. “It’s been my vision to have music wafting through our hallways from the moment I took over this long-established ballet studio with roots back to 1969 here in town.”

Additionally, more space for vocal lessons means more types of vocal lessons, including group lessons.

“The singers now can have the same kind of community the ballet students do,” said Gozzi. “They can make music and perform together.”

Gozzi said she closed the purchase of the adjacent suite in August and opened it for business the first week of October. Work had to be done to remove some walls to connect the new space with the old space.

Instructor Leanna Hinger, who is also a music teacher at Reed Intermediate School, said the new space has been “awesome” and gives her a chance to work with students beyond fifth and sixth grade.

Instructor Liang-Fang Chang, who teaches piano, said, “I think the space equals more opportunity for education; piano lessons were not available here before.”

“Kids can start early, learning the language of music is important,” said Chang.

The ribbon cutting offered chances to meet and talk with the new piano, voice, and guitar faculty, a song and dance by a couple of the students, and a champagne reception. For more information, visit https://nccballetandvoice.com/.

Associate Editor Jim Taylor can be reached at jim@thebee.com.