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By ROBERT FARLEY, Times Staff Writer SAFETY HARBOR -- State officials formally shut down the Dance Place studio on Wednesday, claiming it used coercive, high-pressure sales tactics to sell expensive dance lessons and vacation packages to mostly elderly clients. "They were basically bilking the elderly out of money," said Glenn Kramer of the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, which oversees dance studio operations. Flanked by several sheriff's deputies, Kramer walked into the dance studio at 550 Main St. on Wednesday afternoon and served a cease-and-desist order. "They're out of business as of right now," Kramer said.
The state's investigation was triggered by a St. Petersburg Times story in January about a 75-year-old Palm Harbor widow who says she was pressured into spending $257,000 at the studio during three weeks in December. Since then, state officials say they have received 16 complaints against Dance Place, which is owned by Michael Pasquarelli. One student paid just under $5,000 for a dance competition aboard a cruise ship, and then another $6,240 for a room upgrade, according to the state's emergency suspension order. Investigators say Royal Caribbean Cruises confirmed Pasquarelli paid $795 for the entire cruise. The room upgrade cost $340. Another 54-year-old student told state investigators she signed a dance contract for $12,800 after a choreographer convinced her she could be a star and then put her in a room with three Dance Place employees to work out the financial arrangements. And one legally blind 80-year-old woman paid $5,200 for a dance package that was to include a "River Ranch Weekend." The trip was not provided, the order states. The state's order cites a litany of violations, among them that Pasquarelli did not have a license to sell travel packages. The order also alleges that employees violated the Dance Studio Act by using "relay salesmanship" to sell expensive dance lessons. "You can't use two employees to make sales in a high-pressure manner," Kramer said. The order also alleges that the studio failed to furnish promised dance lessons or services, did not honor some refunds, did not disclose the hourly rate of dance lessons and failed to include its state registration information on all contracts. It also routinely had customers sign uncompleted contracts, investigators say. "They're allegations," said Lee Atkinson, Pasquarelli's attorney. "They haven't been proven." Pasquarelli, who showed up at the studio shortly after the order was served, said he plans to appeal the state's order so that he can reopen his studio as soon as possible. "We may have made some paperwork errors. . . . If we made a mistake, we'll try to correct it," Pasquarelli said. Meanwhile, an investigative team that includes officials from the Pinellas-Pasco State Attorney's Office, the state Attorney General's Office, the Pinellas County Department of Consumer Protection, the Pinellas Sheriff's Office and the state Department of Agriculture and Consumer Affairs is looking into possible crimes that may have been committed by Dance Place operators. "Obviously, there's going to be more to come," said Pinellas sheriff's Detective Tom Clayton. Pasquarelli maintains no customers were pressured into signing expensive contracts. Travel packages are expensive, he said. The same cruise that may cost a person $300 would cost $3,000 through the Dance Place, he said. That's because the student has to pay the fare of the instructor; they travel "first class" in limousines; and the studio tacks on 25 percent to 35 percent profit. "Because there are elderly people with young dance instructors, you're going to get complaints," he said. "People complain about car dealerships all the time," Pasquarelli said. "They don't close car dealerships." Pasquarelli blames his current woes on former client Audrie Jones' decision "to contact the St. Petersburg Times news department to sell some newspapers." The story about her expenditures at Dance Place prompted the state's involvement, he said. Mrs. Jones stopped payment on two checks totaling $150,000, but she is still out more than $100,000 and has received no refund. But other satisfied customers have spent much more than Mrs. Jones, he said, as much as $700,000. Pasquarelli noted that he has been in the dance business for 16 years, and he said his prices are no different than other large dance studios. Pasquarelli said his company has paid lots of refunds over the years and was in the process of providing Jones a refund when the newspaper story ran. Since then, he said, business has suffered. The studio currently has about 60 customers, he said. Mrs. Jones was happy to learn Wednesday that Dance Place had been shut down. "They got what they had due," she said. "They need to get them out of business so they can't do this to other people. Heaven knows how much harm he's done to people." Mrs. Jones said though she still would like to learn to dance, "I had such a bad experience, I think I'll stick to my bowling." -- Robert Farley can be reached at (727) 445-4185 or farley@sptimes.com
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