SOUTH TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — A South Tucson ballet school has been forced to put classes on hold after someone threw a rock through one of its windows, disrupting rehearsals ahead of an upcoming Nutcracker performance.
The owners of Dancing in the Streets Arizona say the damage comes at a particularly difficult time for the studio, as students prepare for the production.
Founder and Director Soleste Lupu says she and her husband, Joseph Rodgers, left the studio around 6 p.m. Monday night. When they returned on Tuesday, they found glass on the ground. A rock had apparently been thrown over the studio's metal gates, striking an upper window.
"It's just really distressing because we have a nutcracker that we're working on. So, every class, every rehearsal is super important to us," Lupu said.
Lupu says no one was inside at the time and the rock only broke one of the window's two panes. But with loose glass near the front entrance, she says classes can't return to normal until the window is repaired.
"It really hurts us. We're not a large organization. We're a small nonprofit. It is my husband and I, board of directors and parents and kids. We rely on donors. We rely on grants. We rely on the community to support us and help us out, and we're grateful to the community," Lupu said.
A South Tucson police officer came out to take a report. There was no working camera out front at the time, leaving the studio without video of whoever caused the damage.
Dancing in the Streets AZ will present its annual production of The Nutcracker Ballet on Nov. 28 and 29 at the Leo Rich Theater at the Tucson Convention Center, 260 S. Church Ave. Find tickets here.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
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