Houston Ballet's Center for Dance to Open in Spring 2011

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Sep 15, 2010, 11:00 ET

New $53 Million Building Will Be The Largest Professional Dance Company Facility in the United States

30,000 Students will be Reached by Expanding Education and Outreach Programs

The Margaret Alkek Williams Dance Laboratory Adds a 200 Seat, Small-Sized Venue to Houston's Theater District

HOUSTON, Sept. 15 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- In a move designed to propel Houston Ballet to the next phase of its development, the company broke ground on July 15, 2009 on the Center for Dance, a new 115,000 square-foot facility located at 601 Preston Street at Smith Street in downtown Houston. The six-story building, designed with sustainable features, is budgeted at $53 million, and is set for completion in early spring of 2011. The building will boast nine dance studios, a dance laboratory that seats 200 for presentations as well as rehearsals, an on-site dormitory, and artistic, administrative and support facilities for Houston Ballet and its academy.

(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20100915/DC63807)

(Photo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20100915/DC63807)

"With the new Center for Dance, we move a step closer to the next chapter in Houston Ballet's history: a state-of-the-art facility for the company located in the heart of Houston's Theater District, just across the street from Wortham Theater Center where the company performs. Moving into the Center for Dance will be a great leap forward for the company, allowing us to significantly expand our education and dance training programs," comments Jesse H. Jones II, co-chairman of the capital campaign and a longtime trustee of Houston Ballet Foundation.

"This building is a tangible symbol of the city of Houston's passionate commitment to the arts. And it will cement Houston's reputation as an international center for the performing and visual arts," Mr. Jones continues. "During a time of national economic recession, when the construction and architecture industries are facing major challenges; the construction of the new Center for Dance has created jobs for Houstonians. When the building is completed in 2011, over 350,000 man hours will be invested in this project. In many ways, the construction of the Center for Dance – occurring at a time of significant financial challenge – is a symbol of the resiliency and vitality of Houston, its economy and its people."

The new structure, designed by globally-recognized architecture firm Gensler, will be the largest professional dance company facility of its kind constructed in the United States. The Houston Chronicle has observed that the building "could be the most exciting new architecture Houston has seen in decades." (July 31, 2009) Art Gensler, chairman and founder of Gensler, acknowledged the importance of the project, commenting: "What a privilege it's been to create the new home for Houston Ballet, literally opening a window through the building's design that lets all of Houston see the beauty, talent and passion of Houston Ballet. We are thrilled to be part of this wonderful addition to downtown Houston and its Theater District."

The new facility will more than double the space that Houston Ballet has at its current home. Houston Ballet's current home is 50,000 square-feet, and the new Center for Dance will be 115,000 square-feet, of which 24,250 square-feet will be rehearsal studios. The Center for Dance will become Houston Ballet's sixth home since its founding in 1955.

"Houston Ballet is committed to its mission of improving the art form of ballet on all levels. Not only will the Center for Dance provide a more appropriate home for the company to foster creativity, but it will also cater to the needs of future generations of students and attract passersby and future patrons with its new highly visible dance studios," comments managing director Cecil C. Conner, "The new building will also provide a beautiful new Northwest gateway into downtown Houston and the Theater District."

"In the spring of 2011, when the Center for Dance opens, we will have a home that is truly an international dance center. The building will be an icon for the art of dance nationally and internationally. And the Center for Dance will further secure Houston's reputation as a cosmopolitan, sophisticated, international city, with a thriving arts community," notes artistic director Stanton Welch.

The co-chairs of the ongoing capital campaign are John C. Bass, Jesse H. Jones II and the late Anita B. Stude. (Mrs. Stude served as co-chairman of the campaign until her death in July 2009.)

Richard Maxwell, AIA is the project principal and James Furr, FAIA is the regional managing principal of Gensler. The project manager is Lorrie Foreman of Irvine Team. The general contractor managing the construction is W.S. Bellows Construction Corporation. David Morris is the vice president and project executive, and Laura Bellows is the chairman of the board for W.S. Bellows Construction Corporation.

A Sustainable Green Building

The Center for Dance has been designed using a variety of energy efficient products and methods to create a sustainable building environment. In an effort to maximize the use of natural light and reduce energy consumption, light fixtures throughout the building will utilize "daylight harvesting," a method of lighting that automatically adjusts as the amount of sunlight changes during the day. Light fixtures will maintain a consistent light level with the least amount of power usage. West-facing studios will have automated blinds that lower as the afternoon sun increases. White ceramic inlaid windows are designed to reduce energy consumption, while allowing natural light to filter in.

Gensler worked closely with the Buffalo Bayou Partnership to link the Center for Dance to a future hike and bike trail along the bayou's bank and the Texas Department of Transportation will build stairways providing a direct connection from the Center for Dance to the bayou in the near future.

30,000 Houston Area Students will Benefit from Education and Outreach Increases

The new Center for Dance will allow Houston Ballet's education and outreach programs to reach more students from a broader section of Houston's population. During its 2009-2010 season, Houston Ballet served 19,000 students. In the new Center for Dance, Shelly Power, academy associate director and head of the education and outreach department, estimates reaching 30,000 students (a 60% increase) by 2015. The Center for Dance's central downtown location in Houston is easily accessible to the city's expanding public transportation network of light rail trains.

About Houston Ballet

On February 17, 1969 a troupe of 15 young dancers made its stage debut at Sam Houston State Teacher's College in Huntsville, Texas. Since that time, Houston Ballet has evolved into a company of 53 dancers with a budget of $18.4 million, a state-of-the-art performance space built especially for the company, Wortham Theater Center, and an endowment of just over $47 million (as of June 2010), making it the United States fourth largest ballet company by number of dancers.

Houston Ballet has toured extensively both nationally and internationally. Over the last decade, the company has appeared in London at Sadler's Wells, at the Bolshoi Theater in Moscow, in six cities in Spain, in Montréal, at The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C., in New York at City Center, and in cities large and small across the United States.

Writing in The Financial Times on March 6, 2006, dance critic Hilary Ostlere praised Houston Ballet as "a strong, reinvigorated company whose male contingent is particularly impressive, a well-drilled corps and an enviable selection of soloists and principals." Dance Europe editor Emma Manning observed of the company in November 2004, "One of the first things that hits you about this company is the technical strengths not just of the principals, but throughout the ranks. Watching artistic director Stanton Welch take class on a Sunday morning before a matinee, one could not help but marvel at the multiple turns tossed off by the young women in the corps....The three new works shown in this program will be followed by no fewer than four more Houston premieres. Can any other major ballet company in the world match that?"

Houston Ballet Academy, with its education and outreach programs, has reached over 19,000 Houston area students (as of the 2009-2010 season) and has had four academy students win prizes at the prestigious international ballet competition the Prix de Lausanne, with one student winning the overall competition in 2010.

Available Topic Expert(s): For information on the listed expert(s), click appropriate link.

Shelly Power

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=95299

Cecil C. Conner

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=95273

Stanton Welch

https://profnet.prnewswire.com/Subscriber/ExpertProfile.aspx?ei=95274

SOURCE Houston Ballet