IlluminaTe Dance opens in renovated Eagles building

IlluminaTe Dance and Arts Center has moved into its new home now that the former Eagles building on South Evans Street has been renovated, and owner Deena Bryan is feeling hopeful and inspired about the expanded space. Bryan, who grew up in Tecumseh but now lives in South Lyon, started by teaching at Tecumseh Dance Workshop and eventually opened her own dance studio in a shared space with Jazzercise at 106 E. Chicago Blvd. The renovated building will give IlluminaTe’s teachers more room for instruction, but some classes will remain at the Chicago Boulevard location.  

Building owners Dave and Stephanie Stimpson had the new space designed specifically for IlluminaTe’s classes, with an open studio created where there once were beams on the second floor. The building holds three separate class studios and a basement lounge for students.  

Last summer Stimpson said he planned to return the walls to exposed brick and install the hardwood floors, as well as adding a composite deck and wrought iron stairs and balcony to the back portion of the second floor. Plans include developing the green space adjacent to the building into a garden and patio to use the outdoor space.

The building has been vacant since the Moose Lodge that used the space closed several years ago and has only been used as temporary space for Grey Fox Floral after that building was destroyed by fire.  

The finished building is a testament to Dave Stimpson’s dedication to investing in Tecumseh. “We believe in making sure our downtown area is healthy and vibrant. Having children and their parents active in the downtown area on a daily basis will help all of the other businesses. In choosing our developments we strive to make sure we assist in providing quality buildings that contain a balance of facilities and opportunities to the community,” he said last June.

Classes offered at IlluminaTe include ballet, jazz, contemporary, modern, pointe, tap, hip hop, musical theatre, voice, yoga, and more, and there are several staff members to cover all those options. Plans are in the works for an introduction to guitar class and acting for dancers, and Bryan hopes to continue expanding her class schedule. “We plan on offering some art classes and music classes in the future,” Bryan said. The studio accepts students from age three to adults.

“It’s absolutely beautiful,” said Bryan of the new studio. Her friend, Carmen Hopkins-Halliwill, created several paintings that have been hung on the walls, and Hopkins-Halliwill will also teach art classes at the center. Other personal touches were added, as well. “It feels kind of dreamy,” said Bryan. “I had a lot of visions and a lot of hopes for how things would look. Obviously, Dave and Stephanie did a phenomenal job renovating the building.”

She plans to continue the full slate of classes and enjoy the new building while hoping the beautiful space inspires and energizes her students.

“We’ll have camp all summer with all ages of classes. We have adult classes now. We have preschool classes and will continue to have those during the summer. And like I said, we’re going to add the art classes, the music classes. I want to get martial arts in. I want it to be a true art center for the city,” she said.

To learn more about IlluminaTe Dance and Arts Center, visit the center’s Facebook page or illuminatedance43.com.