Northampton dance studio boss swaps cha–cha for home improvement company as entertainment industry pauses

As the pandemic continues to take its toll on the economy, many entrepreneurs are having to come up with new and innovative ways of continuing their work through the pandemic.

One such entrepreneur is dance studio owner Andrzej Mialkowski. The owner of Step by Step dance studio, in Henry Street, has come up with a novel sideline business during the coronavirus pandemic.

He has recently launched 'Strictly Home Improvements', which is a sideline business venture that offers bespoke patio and driveway cleaning and other outdoor home improvement services including roof and conservatory cleaning.

And don’t be surprised if you see Andrzej taking a few sneaky cha cha steps behind the pressure washer machine he bought just for the job.

“There is always time for a few cha cha steps,” he laughed. "I set up the business in June and it’s is going really well – people are contacting me for quotes and I’m really enjoying the work.

"It’s keeping my brain and body active and giving me some purpose to keep going until restrictions affecting the dance industry start to lift.”

You would normally see the owner of Step by Step dance studio engaged in a hectic schedule that includes organising national fundraising dance shows for children and adults including Strictly Northampton, Strictly Northampton Kids and Dancing Schools UK. That’s on top of running a busy dance studio and a packed teaching schedule.

At the start of lockdown in March he and his team of teachers delivered 100 free dance lessons online via Zoom and Facebook. But as restrictions started to ease and people started to leave their houses, he stopped online classes and decided to tap into peoples’ renewed interest in home improvements during lockdown.

He bought some professional pressure washer machinery, completed safety training and Strictly Home Improvements was born.

Andrzej added: “Strictly Home Improvements isn’t replacing Step by Step dance school.

"At the moment we are currently offering private lessons in the studio and as soon as we hear futher news from the government, slowly the dancing activity will get back to its full schedule.”