Murrysville dance school will open 2nd location in Plum

Technically, Donna Zerjav of Murrysville runs Donna’s School of Dance in her spare time.

In her day job, Zerjav works as a claims adjuster for Erie Insurance.

But “Donna the claims adjuster” isn’t how most people know her. It’s “Donna from Donna’s School of Dance.”

That’s because the business has been in town for more than a quarter-century, and soon Zerjav will bring it to neighboring Plum, with plans to open a second location in August.

“We have a lot of kids and we’re kind of busting at the seams,” Zerjav said of her longtime location on Old William Penn Highway. “I used to think it would be crazy to try and manage two locations. I didn’t think you could give 100% to multiple places. But it turned out we had the enrollment and the staff.”

It also doesn’t hurt that the new location, on the 1800 block of Golden Mile Highway at the southern tip of Plum, is only about 10 minutes away.

“It was already a dance studio as well, Kelsey’s Dance and Fitness, which made the permitting process a good deal easier,” Zerjav said.

Zerjav came up in the dance world under the tutelage of former “Dance Moms” star and Penn Hills teacher Abby Lee Miller.

“I think I started assisting Abby Lee when I was about 14 years old,” she said. “One of the things (her mother Maryen Lorain Miller) instilled in me is that the focus should be on the love of dance. There are studios where all they breed are competition dancers. I think the focus should be on the love of this community.”

Zerjav said she loves seeing dancers form friendships and find support in their peers.

“Most of these kids, from my studio or others, aren’t going on to become professional dancers,” she said. “But they’re going to have relationships, they’re going to interview for jobs, and, hopefully, we’re helping to give them some of the skills they’ll need.”

Melinda Bahney of Murrysville, whose daughter danced at the studio for 14 years, said Zerjav taught the importance of teamwork, positive social interaction and personal responsibility.

“My daughter is an adult now and attributes her punctuality and time management to Miss Donna and her staff,” Bahney said.

With more than a quarter-century of dance instruction under her belt, Zerjav is also starting to see second-generation dancers at her business.

“Two girls we taught are now in their 20s, out of college and want to be more involved,” she said. “They both did baton twirling, and so that’s something we’re going to offer at the new space in the fall.”

Renovations at the new location included knocking out a few walls to create a better area for parents to sit and observe dance classes, as well as raising the fans and lights in the room where twirling classes will take place.

Zerjav said she hopes to have the building ready for a late-August open house.

“There were times when I worried a lot about a second location,” she said. “But we run summer camps each year, and this year, not only do we have 14 of them, but our enrollment has doubled from last summer. So every time I think, ‘Should I be doing this?’ I look at those numbers and feel very encouraged.”