Dance instructors buy Sterling theater from long-time owner and founder
Photo | Courtesy of North Central Massachusetts Development Corp.
Receiving the ceremonial big check to help fund the $100,000 purchase of MEM Dance Theatre are (from left) Matthew Kooyomjian, co-owner of MEM Dance Theatre; Mary Elizabeth Tinervin, co-owner of MEM Dance Theatre; and Norm Vigeant, vice president of lending at the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp.
The manager for an elite competitive dance team and an instructor with a background in professional dance is taking over the MEM Dance Theatre in Sterling from retiring founder Paula Meola.
Meola has run the theater for more than 20 years under the organization Paula Meola Dance and Performing Arts. The business, which will be known as MEM Dance Theatre, was purchased in early 2022 by Matthew Kooyomjian and Mary Elizabeth Tinervin.
“With a proud heritage dating back more than 20 years, the primary mission of MEM Dance Theatre is to provide a safe, fun, skilled experience for families and their children who desire to study dance and theatre arts,” Kooyomjian said in a Thursday press release from the North Central Massachusetts Development Corp.
Kooyomjian serves as coach and manager for the elite competitive dance team, and he is the business’s administrative manager and director of competitive teams. Tinervin has been an instructor at the studio since 2020 and has an international background in professional dance, including dancing professionally in Europe, Boston, and New York City.
NCMDC provided a loan of $100,000 to help with the leadership transition, which retained two full-time employees and 13 part-time employees.
“With the funding provided by the North Central Massachusetts Development Corporation, we are able to continue Paula’s legacy of offering our community access to unique performance opportunities, and our students with dance techniques provided by talented faculty and guest artists,” Kooyomjian said.
As a microloan lender working with the U.S. Small Business Administration, NCMDC can provide loans to small businesses up to $250,000 for working capital, real estate, equipment, inventory, expansion and working with banking partners to provide gap financing for the final piece of a project. NCMDC is the lending and development division of the North Central Massachusetts Chamber of Commerce, based in Fitchburg.
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