Suffolk’s newest dance and Pilates studio is in an unusual location — above Baron’s Pub in the heart of downtown Suffolk — but it will offer classical instruction in a variety of areas.

Amanda Short, 29, is the owner of Allongé and one of its six instructors. She’s been dancing since the age of 3.

“Part of my passion and desire to start a ballet studio was because we lacked quality ballet instruction out here,” she said.

She started in ballet in Virginia Beach at age 3, but when her family moved to Western Tidewater, she got out of ballet and started clogging with County Line Cloggers in Franklin.

But in middle school, she wanted to get back into ballet and auditioned for the Governor’s School for the Arts. Short said she was far behind the other girls at the audition and “could not believe it” when she was accepted.

“Apparently, I’m a really good mimicker,” she said. “They must have seen potential, because they surely did not see technique.”

Things went from bad to worse when the school year started.

“My freshman year, I came home every day in tears, because those girls knew so much, and I knew that after Mom had paid for eight years of ballet, I should know that much as well.”

But Short credits her instructors for the transition that took place during her four years in the Governor’s School. She later went to Old Dominion University and majored in education but continued taking dance.

She became a middle-school English teacher after graduation but was still teaching dance on the side. She also became a certified Pilates instructor through Todd Rosenlieb Dance in Norfolk, which is a 600-hour class.

She began teaching Pilates, ballet, tap and jazz at the Suffolk Center for Cultural Arts and soon started to get the vision for her own studio.

“I really get to blend my love of dance with my love of education,” she said, adding she has developed syllabi for each class.

A somewhat unique aspect of the studio is that it offers beginning ballet for adults.

“It’s never too late,” Short said.

Allongé (a French word that in the world of dance means “extended,” “outstretched” or “elongated”) offers several levels of ballet and tap, jazz and Broadway jazz, several types of Pilates, WEE Dance for children ages 18 months to 3 years, dance fundamentals for ages 3 to 6 and simply barre fitness. About 50 students are signed up so far.

“This is our first week open, so that’s not bad,” Short said.

Visit the Allongé website at www.allongedanceacademy.com.