47 www.ReadMPM.com | www.MountPleasantMagazine.com | www.MountPleasantPodcast.com summer camps while her mother helps with after-school programs and summer activities. “Everyone there is family,” Smith said. “From the moment you walk in, you feel like you’re part of their family. It’s been that way forever.” That sense of continuity has become increasingly rare. Mount Pleasant has transformed dramatically over the past several decades. Neighborhoods have expanded, roads have widened and new families arrive every day. Through all that change, Tapio has remained a constant. Children who once rode the Tapio bus now watch their own kids do the same. Former campers become counselors. Young dancers become instructors. Students return years later and discover familiar faces still greeting them at the front desk. The adjacent timeline highlights the milestones that shaped Tapio’s journey, from a front porch on Sullivan’s Island in 1951 to a new facility opening in 2026. But much like the numbers, these dates and addresses aren’t the whole story. The real legacy of Tapio lives in the families who return year after year, generation after generation. For nearly 75 years, that tradition has continued, and with their new and improved location, their next chapter is only getting started. our town Timeline 1951 - Johanna Runey taught dance to neighborhood children on her front porch on Sullivan’s Island. 1952 - Johanna Runey taught at the Sullivan’s Island Community Hall and Primrose House on East Bay. 1956 - Johanna Runey Tapio had her first of eight children, Susan Tapio Breland. 1956 - Mount Pleasant Recreation Building on Royall Avenue. 1960’s - Started feeder programs at Charleston Air Force Base, Naval Weapons Station, Charleston YMCA and multiple nursery schools around the Charleston area. 1968 - Shem Creek, where the parking garage sits now. Susan started teaching dance. 1970 - National Guard Armory on Mathis Ferry. With more space, this is where the gymnastics program began. 1972 - Started attending dance conventions around South and North Carolina. 1978 - Susan married Stevie Breland and they took over the Mount Pleasant location of Tapio School. 1989 - Moved back to Coleman Boulevard at the corner of Pherigo Street and Coleman. 1993 - 1119 Johnnie Dodds Blvd., where the flooring factory is now. Started the After School Pick Up Program and summer day camps. 1996 - Moved to 455 Long Point Road. 2026 - Current location opening in a few weeks (late summer 2026) - 608 Seacoast Parkway. Johanna Runey Tapio ballet dancing. Dance class picture taken in the parlor at the Primrose House, the first Tapio studio location. From left to right are Sara, Matthew, Suzanne, Bennett and Mallory. Mallory and Suzanne have been part of the Tapio gymnastics family since Mallory was 2 years old.
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