Westside Dance & Gymnastics Academy in Tigard might be known for its award-winning dance and gymnastic programs. But what you might not know is that it is also a “family” business with only three owners over more than four decades, with each successive owner a student of the previous owner.
Founder Carla Webber grew up in Ohio as the daughter of professional dancers and danced with the June Taylor Dancers, which performed on “The Jackie Gleason Show.” Webber also was a Radio City Rockette from 1958 to 1961. (The Rockettes, known for their high-energy performances and synchronized dance, are celebrating their 100th anniversary this year.) “It’s hard on the body,” Webber said. “I thought I would be dancing a lot longer than I did.”
After Webber married her husband John, they moved to Oregon. In 1971 Webber started teaching dancing at the Capitol Hill Community Club in Beaverton. “It was a square-dancing place that I rented and started with 12 students,” she said. “It kept growing, and I got to the point I was going to have to quit because there were so many students and I couldn’t rent enough space to accommodate all of them.
“There were all kinds of sports venues at the time, and a few dance studios in the area but no gymnastics studios and none that combined gymnastics and dance. We decided we needed to open our own place. John found a young architect who had never planned/designed such a large facility. We found the site off 99W that was a 25-year-old fill from the Tigard Fred Meyer construction site and built a 14,000-square-foot tilt-up concrete building during the 1973 statewide building contractor strike.
“I had four kids and was teaching dancing full time while helping John with the building. It had four dance studios and a gym. John was a surgeon, and I was so lucky I had him because he worked really long hours on the building.”
The Carla Webber School of Dance and Portland Gymnastics Center opened in late 1973 and was featured on the cover of “International Gymnast” magazine as the largest private facility in North America for the instruction of dance and gymnastics. “After I opened, we grew so fast because of the caring and nurturing atmosphere we created here,” Webber said.
One of Webber’s dance students was Mellanie Heniff, who started taking classes from Webber when she was 5 years old. After graduating from high school and learning how to run a business, Heniff bought Westside from Webber in 1985 when she was still very young.
“Mellanie was a great steward of the business,” Webber said. “She did a great job. I’m so proud of her.”
One of Heniff’s students was Brad Hampton, who bought the business from her in 2019.
Like Webber, Hampton, who was born and raised in Canby, has an extensive background as a professional dancer.. He did tap, jazz and ballet growing up and after graduating from high school, “I was lucky enough to get an agent in Los Angeles and was able to start making a living dancing,” he said.
After working in L.A. for nine years, Hampton auditioned for “42nd Street” on Broadway in New York City. “I was so lucky,” Hampton said. “I auditioned in L.A., and they only hired two of us. That got me to New York, and it really opened doors for me.”
Like Webber, he also performed in the ensemble in shows on the Great Stage at Radio City Music Hall in New York City. Ironically, two of Webber’s students danced as Rockettes on that same stage – KT Wilson and Brooklyn Bronson, who also was one of Hampton’s students.
When Hampton was in New York, “Mellanie was visiting and asked me to move back to Portland, I think to teach classes at Westside,” he said. “She was ready to retire. I still had a contract with Radio City and a couple other contracts I had to complete. I finished my contracts and came back here.”
Hampton purchased Westside with two partners, Simone, a gymnastics teacher, and Denise, a women’s gymnastics teacher. “I am so lucky and blessed to be here,” he said. “We do pre-school here. They come when they’re little and stay until they are 18. Sometimes they fall in love with dance and then switch to gymnastics or vice-versa. It is unique to offer both.”
“What Mellanie and Brad have done is to keep the studio going,” Webber said. “They have kept my vision alive working with children, providing a safe place for them to learn and creating a family.”
Hampton added, “This is definitely a family community within this building. By teaching dance and gymnastics, we are also teaching life lessons along with trust and faith. We don’t teach with an iron fist. We are friendly but firm. Kids can come to us with anything.”
Webber said of Hampton, “Brad has continued teaching the whole student, it’s not just about dance.”
He noted, “There are ups and downs. If kids are down, we keep working hard. The ups are fun, the downs are crappy, but we will get them through it. My mission is to keep Carla’s and Mellanie’s mission alive.”
Webber also credits Hampton, who teaches tap and jazz, with starting more programs since he took over the academy, and he opened a mini-gym in another location for the youngest students. “Our hope is that the 4-, 5- and 6-year-olds will not feel overwhelmed by everything going on here,” he said. “They can work on standing in line, their motor-sensory skills and getting the wiggles out.
“My favorite age is 9, 10 and 11,” Hampton added. “We have parents who are former students who say this is their second home. The staff is family. As our students have gotten older, we train them to be teachers, and now some of them are our teachers.
“This business has lasted over 40 years. Mellanie could have sold it to a big corporation, but she wanted to keep it in the family.”
The facility also opens its doors to outside groups and recently hosted the Oregon state gymnastics championships.
Westside Dance & Gymnastics is located at 11632 SW Pacific Hwy in Tigard and can be found online at www.westsideacademy.com.
