Georgina Coleman is facing a dilemma. 

The longtime owner and director of beloved Center Stage Dance Academy in El Dorado Hills will retire in June after years of strenuous dance instruction and a battle with cancer back in 2008. And even though Coleman is ready to hang up her ballet slippers for good, she’s not ready to say goodbye to the Academy. 

According to a letter sent to Academy families, she’s been working for months to find a new owner for her business, but has so far has been unsuccessful with potential buyers eventually walking away.

“Unfortunately, the culprit in ending each of these potential deals has been our rent, which if you aren't aware is over $12,000 per month, and will continue to rise for the final two years of our lease,” Coleman wrote in her letter. “Each month we find ourselves closer and closer to being in the red, it's an untenable situation which is turning away potential buyers and making it difficult to foresee a successful future for the studio in this location.”

A final deadline for the future of the Academy is May 12, and Coleman is asking anyone or group of individuals in the community who may have an idea about how to save the business to come forward as soon as possible. 

The Academy's final recital is scheduled for June and any auditions and recitals after that date have been put on hold.

“If the studio is to remain, we need to come together and brainstorm a solution,” Coleman wrote. “… This may not have to be the end, but for the studio to survive past June, it will need a community effort to either find a buyer or collectively take over CSDA's future yourselves. … This has been a labor of love, not money for not only myself, but also for our incredibly talented and dedicated team of teachers and staff ... Perhaps love can save it.”

For those who may be interested in taking over the Academy, Coleman is asking them to email [email protected] or [email protected]