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The original Paradise Place Studio was
created by Hugo Chang, an avid lifetime dancer and philanthropic
supporter of various dance communities in Seattle and Portland.
When he moved his business office to Portland, he began looking
for a space to build a ballroom to replace the one he had owned
in Seattle. In 2004 he opened Paradise Place Studio which was
designed as a place for classes and small dance gatherings. One
year later he located the present space and within 27 days had
created Paradise Ballroom. Hugo and a few friends installed the
beautiful 1440 sq ft, cushioned maple dance floor, sound system,
and seating.
During the following three and a half
years, Hugo continued improving the ballroom and its attendance
continued to grow. He included his gourmet catering in many of
the events and during the Chinese New Year and Two Year
Anniversary celebrations, and several other events over 100 were
present.
In August of 2008 he decided to expand his
mushroom sales and distribution business, and entered an
agreement with the current management team, Greg, Astrid, Jenica
and Polly, to take responsibility of the ballroom. However, he
will remain very active in assisting us with many aspects of
operating the venue.
Hugo moved his warehouse equipment and
supplies to his former location in SE Portland and his former
space is now part of Paradise Studio. A beautiful 1800 sq ft
bamboo dance floor has been installed there and various
remodeling projects throughout the studio are in progress.
Hugo's contributions to the Portland Dance
Community reach far beyond the ballroom/studio and those who
know him are familiar with his excellent dancing, enthusiastic
approach to anything dance related, and his sense of community
spirit. Our goal is to continue building on the foundation he
built.
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