Defunct dance studio' is out of step with parents

Parents are out thousands of dollars after a man whose real estate company is being investigated by the FBI for mortgage fraud suddenly shut down his other business -- a dance studio in Maple Grove.

Dancers, parents and instructors arrived Nov. 12 at Dancer's Edge near 95th Avenue North to find its doors locked and the locks changed. They were informed by e-mail that the studio would be closed through Nov. 21.

In the weeks since, parents have concluded that money they'd prepaid to the studio -- anywhere from $35 to $3,000 apiece -- is lost.

And they said they've gotten no response from the owner, Thomas J. Balko, 37, who they say has not returned their calls or answered e-mails or letters.

Parents said they had little warning that the studio would close. Moreover, in its final days they still were ordering costumes, registering for workshops and paying tuition in advance -- often at Balko's urging.

"He sat there the Saturday before, collecting money from people," said Mary Eide, who worked at the studio.

She suggested that he did so "knowing full well he would be locking the doors Monday."

A private attorney, Patrick Burns, who has sued Balko alleging mortgage fraud in another case, said he also plans to sue Dancer's Edge and its owners. He estimates that parents, staff members and others are out more than $250,000.

Meanwhile, Balko -- a Rogers resident and co-owner of TJ Waconia, a Roseville-based real estate business -- has been named by the FBI as a target in a sweeping mortgage fraud investigation.

An affidavit alleges that more than 150 north Minneapolis properties foreclosed on during a six-month period this year passed through TJ Waconia's hands.

"From the standpoint of the dollars, obviously the studio isn't as big of a deal," said Chris Folke, whose 12-year-old daughter took dance classes there. "But in terms of affecting the lives of people, disappointing some 600 kids, it's just awful."

Sgt. Trent MacDonald of the Maple Grove police said officers interviewed Balko soon after he closed the studio's doors. Balko told police that he planned to reopen the studio and that changing the locks was just a safeguard until he did so, MacDonald said.

Since Dancer's Edge closed, a new studio has opened in its space -- Dancin' on Broadway, which is based in Brooklyn Park.

Debbie Thiel, one of that studio's owners, said the studio leases the building and "is working on" owning it.

For now, Balko owns the building, according to Hennepin County property records. He bought the studio about two years ago, and his own children took classes there.

Sandy Cecere, whose daughter had danced at Dancer's Edge for two years, said she saw firsthand that Balko cared about the studio.

She spoke with him days before it closed, and she said he talked about how his children had suffered because of the FBI inquiry and how he intended to keep the studio open.

Cecere's daughter has been taking dance for 13 years and hopes to make it a career. So she was taking many classes and performing in many competitions.

Because the studio offered a 10 percent discount on lessons for paying up front, Cecere wrote a check this fall for more than $1,200. She'd also paid for costumes and competition fees. Like other parents, she has filed a complaint with the Minnesota Attorney General's Office. But she doubts she'll see any of the money again.

After the loss, she considered pulling her daughter out of dance lessons. "I tried to tell her she had to drop out, and she was just devastated," Cecere said. "So I took money out of savings. ... I really don't want her not to dance."

Now Cecere's daughter, along with about 430 of the approximately 550 students who took classes at Dancer's Edge, goes to Energy Dance Studio, a new school that has opened in temporary space in Maple Grove.

Former Dancer's Edge staffers, many of whom worked for the studio before Balko bought it, started Energy Dance after Dancer's Edge closed.

"It's been a month of miracles," said Shannon Raines, one of the owners of the new studio. Raines had previously worked as the director of Dancer's Edge.

Balko fired her a week before closing shop, she and parents said. In the weeks prior, she said she had pressured Balko to be more open about the FBI investigation and other financial troubles, as parents and the 30-person staff were growing concerned.