Toronto man brings back shuttered neighbourhood hub to its former glory

A community space that had been a staple for dancers in Toronto for twenty years and tragically closed in 2021 has reopened under a new name. 

Dovercourt Dance House (formerly Dovercourt House) opened under new ownership last year and was renamed to emphasize its dance focus.

Changes in management and business model, along with an entirely different social climate made the reopening of the beloved dance hub possible. 

Rewind to 2021, to the era of physical distancing, limited gatherings and face coverings, to the time when the pandemic was ravaging some of our favourite businesses across the city. 

In January, 2021, Dovercourt House was forced to closed its doors. Former lease-holder, Andy Haslett cited a lack of revenue from not being able to host in-person events as the cause. 

The dance community in Toronto was devastated. “There was such a connection between the dancers and the building that many dancers actually cried after it closed down,” explains Azhwan Mando.

Mando is the organizer of Toronto Dance Fridays, which began hosting weekly salsa and bachata classes at Dovercourt House in 2015. 

“It was a huge loss for me personally and also for the dance community. Dovercourt House is an important building which brings lots of joy to many people in Toronto, myself included, and its closure was heartbreaking,” says Popi Spyridis, the owner of Dance Class Toronto, who began teaching zumba classes at Dovercourt House in 2012.

According to Mando, the social media post announcing the venue’s closure had hundreds of shares within a day.

Several people even met with Haslett, including Mando, to discuss other alternatives, such as fundraising—but ultimately their efforts were to no avail. 

Personally, the loss hit Mando hard, “I was heartbroken, it was so much grief and sadness at that time. For a few weeks I was totally down. Dovercourt House was going to be gone forever, that was basically the perspective back then,” he says.  

A new tenant moved into the building and it was safe to assume that it was the end of an era. In the meantime, Mando relocated to another dance venue and began focusing on outdoor classes and events. 

“I did what everyone else did during COVID, which was to run classes virtually and outdoors, and some of my students attended these classes, but many did not,” explains Spyridis.  

Mando explains the new tenant tried turning the space into a restaurant and later a cafe, as well as renting it out for various functions and as office space—but nothing really stuck. 

“None of these ideas worked. My perspective is Dovercourt [House] was always a place for dancing,” he says. 

By January, 2023, Mando had been informed by Haslett that the tenant had gone out of business.

Although Mando had settled into a comfortable situation, he leapt at the chance to restore the building to its former glory as a dance haven and became the current tenant at 805 Dovercourt Road.

Visiting the 112-year-old, three-storey brick building in Dovercourt Village, the same feeling of sadness as when it was announced Dovercourt House was closing, washed over Mando when he realized how much it had changed.

The dance floors had been damaged and he no longer knew any of the neighbours. 

Mando had his work cut out for him. In a gesture of true commitment, he even sold another property he owned to fund the renovations, “That’s how important Dovercourt House is to me, I let go of my own place to renovate it and bring it back to the dancing community.”

He then began a major 6-month renovation. This included installing new flooring that is specially made for dancing.

Mando also set out to resolve several issues that plagued the building pre-pandemic. He added air conditioning throughout the massive 3,500 square feet per floor building and sound proofed the entire space, which is located in a residential area.

By August, 2023, the dance venue reopened to the public and minor renovations continued until October, 2023. 

With the reopening, many dancers were left wondering what changes had been made to the business. Low prices are part of why Dovercourt House was so well loved by the community prior to the pandemic, so affordability was a key area of concern. 

“It’s very close to be honest, the prices haven’t changed much,” assures Mando. Prices have been raised slightly to account for inflation and to reflect updates to the space that up its capacity. These changes consist of converting storage areas into dancing space and  having just one bar in the basement rather than on every floor.

For evenings, rent used to be $4o per hour before the pandemic. Now it is $60 per hour. Mando claims, “When you’re dividing it by the square feet of how much dancing space was available, they’re actually identical.”

Not to fear, $10 and $15 dance classes and events with live instruction and DJs are still being offered at Dovercourt Dance House, including their weekly Salsa and Bachata Fridays and Sunday Social events.

It seems like Dovercourt Dance House is almost back in full swing. “Right now two floors of the three are fully booked. We have brought almost 80 per cent of the previous communities that used to be here back to Dovercourt House,”says Mando. 

“The reopening of Dovercourt House has brought people back to Zumba, as well as some new faces. Being back at Dovercourt House has been rejuvenating,” raves Spyridis. 

To the delight of dancer-lovers in Toronto, it appears like Dovercourt Dance House will remain a safe haven for dancers for years to come.

Dovercourt Dance House is located at 805 Dovercourt Road.