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Parents wonder why Cheektowaga dance studio closed without warning

Posted at 6:24 PM, Dec 05, 2017
and last updated 2017-12-05 18:24:27-05

10-year-old Sametah Ali and her five-year-old sister Natalaiya loved the hours they spent inside Rock Steady Dance Center every week. 

Their mom, Mari said classes didn't come cheap. She spent at least $120 a month for dance lessons for both girls, and that's money she wants back after learning the studio's owner wasn't paying rent. “This money was supposed to go towards her rent for the facility and she hasn't been paying,” Mari explained. 

She also said she's out $260 for dance costumes she never received and won't need now that the studio has closed. 

A sign posted inside the studio said its closing because of unforeseen and unavoidable circumstances. According to the building landlord, that's not true. He said owner, Jill Jaros, saw this coming when she stopped paying rent some three months ago. “I feel bad, but I have to collect rent because I have bills to pay,” Kenny Generoso. Generoso said Jaros owes him more than $6,000. 

Grandparents like Jackie, who asked that we not use her last name, sent her granddaughter to Rock Steady for more than a year. She said she was at the studio last week and given no warning anything was wrong. “All the times she (Jaros) came here, she could've let us know,” Jackie said.

We reached out Jaros and an attorney who represented her in the past for comment. Neither got back to us. 

Meantime, parents like Mari aren't dancing around the issue. She wants a refund for the costumes she bought, and she wants it paid in full.

To file a complaint with the State Attorney General's Office, click here.