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BY BETTY JESPERSEN
Staff writer 07/21/2008

WEST FARMINGTON -- Barbara Gerdin was tired of driving all over the state to get her daughter fitted properly in pointe shoes or to find a good selection of cheerleading and tumbling gear.

And she was fed up with paying high shipping costs with online orders and then return shipping if an item didn't fit right.

So when this Farmington mother decided to start her own business, she did her homework.

"There are 43 dance studios within an hour's drive of Farmington, 10 gymnastics schools and 13 high schools," said Gerdin as she sat in her sunny, spacious new store, Dance, Tumble & Cheer! at 113 Oakes St., just off Wilton Road and across the street from the West Farmington Post Office. The shop opened a week ago last Saturday.

"The beauty of this is that people can come in, try the items on, see and feel the fabrics and move in them to see how they stretch," she said.

The store carries a complete line of clothes, shoes and accessories for dance, ballet, gymnastics and cheerleading for men and women, toddlers up to adult. The selection is for the beginner to the serious athlete.

"We do not live in a wealthy community, and many families struggle so their kids have what they need to be active and stay involved. That is why I am looking to keep costs low," she said.

The closest dance apparel store is Dancewear House in Hallowell and there are several stores in Portland.

Holly Gould, the coach of Mt. Blue Rec Cheering and the Mt. Blue High School cheerleading team, said cheering and gymnastics are growing sports and many kids start in pre-kindergarten and stay with it through high school.

She had stopped by to talk with Gerdin about ways the business can help reduce the cost of team uniforms.

"I am just thrilled about this store. Having Barbara here will really support us," Gould said.

Gerdin is also a manager for Team Cheer, a line of quality, branded cheer and performance products and she can order the online retailer's items and save shoppers the shipping costs.

Gerdin said she had been working on the concept for two years and developed a business plan with a financial counselor from Androscoggin Valley Council of Governments. Gerdin is also a member of the Northeast Dance Retailers Association, a business networking group of dance apparel retailers.

It was through that group that Gerdin received extensive training to fit pointe shoes, a ballet shoe that must be properly tailored to a specific foot or the dancer risks serious bone damage and arthritis later in life. She carries shoe lines by Grishko, Bloch, Sansha and Leo's Dancewear.

Sixteen-year old Brittany Frazier does ballet, tap, hip-hop and jazz dance and cheering. When she stopped by to check out the shop, she mentioned to Gerdin how her pointe shoes hurt her toes.

"These shoes, if property fitted, are not supposed to hurt and your toes are not supposed to touch the front of the shoe," she said.

Dance, Tumble & Cheer! is open Tuesdays to Saturdays. For information, call 860-2582.

Betty Jespersen -- 778-6991

bjespersen@centralmaine.com

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