The story of the Thomas Studio began with one dancer’s dream of building a business out of a passion for dance and a love for children and that dream has continued for over fifty years. Helping dancers discover the joy that comes from dance education has always been a staple in every curriculum at The Thomas Dance Studio, and it will continue to be long into the future.

The Thomas Studio is widely known as a school that has been growing dancers since 1967, however, our story started long before then with owner and director, Linda Thomas Spencer’s, mother “Ruth” who is the original “Thomas” of The Thomas Studio of Performing Arts. Ruth Stevens Thomas performed extensively throughout the county as a member of the “Five Hollywood Blondes.” After her performing career came to a close, Ruth opened a dance studio near her family home in Mt. Oliver. Satellite locations soon opened, operating simultaneously in the South Side, Bethel Park, McMurray, and on Arlington Avenue.

During this time, current studio owner “Miss” Linda travelled with her mom from location to location with their record player to pass on their love of dance. In 1967, Linda took over as director at just nineteen years old and rented the Studio’s first official space. The first official Thomas Dance Studio address was located in Upper St Clair and housed the first dance steps for many young dancers including “Miss” Jessica, Linda’s daughter.

In 1999, Linda found that the studio had outgrown it’s original location and moved the business to 1900 Painters Run Road, where we danced our way through 10 more years.

During the summer of 2006, an opportunity to open a second location presented itself and The Thomas Dance Studio West was born.

In the spring of 2009, after years of hard work by the Spencer family and The Thomas Studio Staff, we purchased an almost 9,000 square foot facility in Bridgeville and began the daunting task of designing and building a custom dance studio with all of the amenities and equipment a dancer could desire. That fall, the beautiful current home of The Thomas Studio South was revealed!

If you are new to our Studio, Welcome! If you are already a member of our dance family, thank you for sharing this journey with us. On with the dance!