MontroseNeighborhood
Aug 6, 2008, 12:37 PM
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Ballet will grow by leaps, bounds with $53 million move
Houston company raising funds to build studio and office space downtown
By CHARLES WARD Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 6, 2008, 12:58AM
The Houston Ballet plans to consolidate all of its offices and rehearsal space, as well as its Ben Stevenson Academy, in a proposed $53 million building downtown.
The building would be on Smith Street, catercorner to the Wortham Theater Center, where the ballet presents six programs and a monthlong run of The Nutcracker each year. It also rents studio and office space at the Wortham, while its main offices and rehearsal studios are at 1912 W. Gray, near River Oaks.
Plans call for an elevated skywalk to connect the proposed 120,000-square-foot project to the Wortham. No construction or completion dates have been set, pending the outcome of fundraising, ballet managing director Cecil C. Conner Jr. said Tuesday.
"One of the great benefits in moving downtown near the Wortham would be being in close proximity to the Wortham all the time instead of having to go back and forth between two locations," Conner said.
The Houston Ballet Foundation, which operates the company, owns half of the block bounded by Smith, Louisiana, Preston and Congress. The foundation purchased the entire block in May 2007, then sold the unneeded eastern half to a developer. A parking lot now occupies the block.
Conner declined to reveal the purchase prices of the lot and the half the ballet sold.
The West Gray location, which the ballet has owned since 1982, also houses the ballet's wardrobe shop and offices for its music staff, while two townhouses on nearby Dunlavy are home to out-of-town academy students. They also would move to the downtown facility, while the ballet would vacate two studios plus office space it currently leases in the Wortham. The West Gray site would be sold.
A work in progress
Houston Ballet officials have been working with the Houston office of the national architectural firm Gensler for more than a year on the design of the building. The work is still in progress, Conner said.
"It all depends on whether you can raise the money and the cost of steel tomorrow or a year from now," he said of the design. Conner declined to say how much money has been raised for the project.
The Houston Ballet is in discussions with other arts organizations, including the Society for the Performing Arts, about leasing space in its proposed facility, but has no firm agreements. More tenants would increase the building's size, Conner said.
Other large performing-arts groups have offices and rehearsal spaces in the theaters where they perform: the Alley Theatre in its own home, the Houston Symphony and SPA in Jones Hall, and Houston Grand Opera in the Wortham.
Jones Hall and the Wortham are owned by the city.
"When your offices are not on-site, and you have specific details to take care of, it's tough operationally," said June Christensen, executive director of Society for the Performing Arts.
Owning a building that consolidates operations is typical for major American ballet companies, said Andrea Snyder, executive director of Dance/USA, a service organization for U.S. dance companies. "The companies with the largest budgets either have them or are well on the way."
A national trend
The Houston Ballet is one of the 10 largest ballet companies in the United States in size of budget, said John Munger, Dance/USA's director of research and information. It flip-flops with Pacific Northwest Ballet for fifth and six spots.
Contemporary dance and mid-size ballet ensembles likewise are striving to own buildings where they can rehearse and operate, Snyder said.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has a showcase building near New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts that the company bills as "the largest dedicated space for dance in the country." Mark Morris Dance Group also has a notable building near the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where it performs.
"It makes the relationship between administration and production a lot easier," Snyder said.
Owning a building allows a company to control special needs more easily, Munger said. It's easier to install and maintain flooring, mirrors, rehearsal bars, temperature and other items specific to ballet ensembles than when renting.
Established in 1955, Houston Ballet Foundation immediately opened its dance academy. It supported numerous groups' performances until it established the permanent professional company in 1969. It has a strong record of financial stability, balancing its budget since the 1994-95 season, Conner said. The budget for the 2007-08 season was $17.3 million. The endowment stood at $55.8 million on June 30.
About Houston Theater District
Learn more about the Houston Theater District with these fun facts!
Did you know...
• More than two million people visit the Houston Theater District annually to experience its magic and excitement.
• With 12,948 seats for live performances and 1,480 movie seats, the Houston Theater District ranks second behind New York City for the number of theater seats in a concentrated downtown area.
• Houston is one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines of opera, ballet, music and theater.
• The Alley Theatre received the 1996 Tony Award for best regional theatre.
• Houston Grand Opera is the only opera company in the U.S. to win a Grammy, a Tony and an Emmy.
• Houston Ballet is the fifth largest ballet troupe in the country and the youngest of the major national dance companies in America.
• The Houston Symphony performs more than 200 concerts throughout the world for more than 300,000 people each year.
• Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is the largest non-profit producer of musical theater in America. TUTS’ permanent downtown home—The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts—opened on May 10, 2002.
• The Alley Theatre began in 1947 when high school teacher Nina Vance sent out 214 postcards to friends and neighbors. The postcard read: “It’s beginning! Do you want a new theatre for Houston? Meeting. 3617 Main. Bring a friend! Tuesday, October 7, 8 p.m.” More than 100 “members” attended and the Alley was born. The Alley Theatre is located at 615 Texas Avenue.
• The Gus S. Wortham Center, located at the corner of Smith and Texas, opened in 1987 and is home to resident companies Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera. The Wortham Center is a 437,000 square-foot facility that could fit a six-story building into the Grand Foyer and three football fields on the roof. There is the same amount of wiring in Wortham Center as would be found in a 75-story office building. The construction of the Wortham Center was funded entirely by the private sector.
• Prior to performing in Jones Hall, the Houston Symphony called the City Auditorium home. The City Auditorium, now the site of Jones Hall, opened in 1910 and hosted cultural events, boxing matches, poultry exhibits, automobile shows, dances and conventions. The facility had deteriorated by 1962, and the Houston Endowment, a charitable foundation established by Jesse Jones, committed to building a new hall for the city. Four years later, the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts opened at 615 Louisiana Street.
• The Verizon Wireless Theater is located at the corner of Texas and Bagby in the Bayou Place entertainment complex. The theater can be set up in three distinctive seating arrangements—traditional theater rows, cabaret tables or standing room—depending on the nature of the performance.
Ballet will grow by leaps, bounds with $53 million move
Houston company raising funds to build studio and office space downtown
By CHARLES WARD Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
Aug. 6, 2008, 12:58AM
The Houston Ballet plans to consolidate all of its offices and rehearsal space, as well as its Ben Stevenson Academy, in a proposed $53 million building downtown.
The building would be on Smith Street, catercorner to the Wortham Theater Center, where the ballet presents six programs and a monthlong run of The Nutcracker each year. It also rents studio and office space at the Wortham, while its main offices and rehearsal studios are at 1912 W. Gray, near River Oaks.
Plans call for an elevated skywalk to connect the proposed 120,000-square-foot project to the Wortham. No construction or completion dates have been set, pending the outcome of fundraising, ballet managing director Cecil C. Conner Jr. said Tuesday.
"One of the great benefits in moving downtown near the Wortham would be being in close proximity to the Wortham all the time instead of having to go back and forth between two locations," Conner said.
The Houston Ballet Foundation, which operates the company, owns half of the block bounded by Smith, Louisiana, Preston and Congress. The foundation purchased the entire block in May 2007, then sold the unneeded eastern half to a developer. A parking lot now occupies the block.
Conner declined to reveal the purchase prices of the lot and the half the ballet sold.
The West Gray location, which the ballet has owned since 1982, also houses the ballet's wardrobe shop and offices for its music staff, while two townhouses on nearby Dunlavy are home to out-of-town academy students. They also would move to the downtown facility, while the ballet would vacate two studios plus office space it currently leases in the Wortham. The West Gray site would be sold.
A work in progress
Houston Ballet officials have been working with the Houston office of the national architectural firm Gensler for more than a year on the design of the building. The work is still in progress, Conner said.
"It all depends on whether you can raise the money and the cost of steel tomorrow or a year from now," he said of the design. Conner declined to say how much money has been raised for the project.
The Houston Ballet is in discussions with other arts organizations, including the Society for the Performing Arts, about leasing space in its proposed facility, but has no firm agreements. More tenants would increase the building's size, Conner said.
Other large performing-arts groups have offices and rehearsal spaces in the theaters where they perform: the Alley Theatre in its own home, the Houston Symphony and SPA in Jones Hall, and Houston Grand Opera in the Wortham.
Jones Hall and the Wortham are owned by the city.
"When your offices are not on-site, and you have specific details to take care of, it's tough operationally," said June Christensen, executive director of Society for the Performing Arts.
Owning a building that consolidates operations is typical for major American ballet companies, said Andrea Snyder, executive director of Dance/USA, a service organization for U.S. dance companies. "The companies with the largest budgets either have them or are well on the way."
A national trend
The Houston Ballet is one of the 10 largest ballet companies in the United States in size of budget, said John Munger, Dance/USA's director of research and information. It flip-flops with Pacific Northwest Ballet for fifth and six spots.
Contemporary dance and mid-size ballet ensembles likewise are striving to own buildings where they can rehearse and operate, Snyder said.
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater has a showcase building near New York's Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts that the company bills as "the largest dedicated space for dance in the country." Mark Morris Dance Group also has a notable building near the Brooklyn Academy of Music, where it performs.
"It makes the relationship between administration and production a lot easier," Snyder said.
Owning a building allows a company to control special needs more easily, Munger said. It's easier to install and maintain flooring, mirrors, rehearsal bars, temperature and other items specific to ballet ensembles than when renting.
Established in 1955, Houston Ballet Foundation immediately opened its dance academy. It supported numerous groups' performances until it established the permanent professional company in 1969. It has a strong record of financial stability, balancing its budget since the 1994-95 season, Conner said. The budget for the 2007-08 season was $17.3 million. The endowment stood at $55.8 million on June 30.
About Houston Theater District
Learn more about the Houston Theater District with these fun facts!
Did you know...
• More than two million people visit the Houston Theater District annually to experience its magic and excitement.
• With 12,948 seats for live performances and 1,480 movie seats, the Houston Theater District ranks second behind New York City for the number of theater seats in a concentrated downtown area.
• Houston is one of only five cities in the United States with permanent professional resident companies in all of the major performing arts disciplines of opera, ballet, music and theater.
• The Alley Theatre received the 1996 Tony Award for best regional theatre.
• Houston Grand Opera is the only opera company in the U.S. to win a Grammy, a Tony and an Emmy.
• Houston Ballet is the fifth largest ballet troupe in the country and the youngest of the major national dance companies in America.
• The Houston Symphony performs more than 200 concerts throughout the world for more than 300,000 people each year.
• Theatre Under The Stars (TUTS) is the largest non-profit producer of musical theater in America. TUTS’ permanent downtown home—The Hobby Center for the Performing Arts—opened on May 10, 2002.
• The Alley Theatre began in 1947 when high school teacher Nina Vance sent out 214 postcards to friends and neighbors. The postcard read: “It’s beginning! Do you want a new theatre for Houston? Meeting. 3617 Main. Bring a friend! Tuesday, October 7, 8 p.m.” More than 100 “members” attended and the Alley was born. The Alley Theatre is located at 615 Texas Avenue.
• The Gus S. Wortham Center, located at the corner of Smith and Texas, opened in 1987 and is home to resident companies Houston Ballet and Houston Grand Opera. The Wortham Center is a 437,000 square-foot facility that could fit a six-story building into the Grand Foyer and three football fields on the roof. There is the same amount of wiring in Wortham Center as would be found in a 75-story office building. The construction of the Wortham Center was funded entirely by the private sector.
• Prior to performing in Jones Hall, the Houston Symphony called the City Auditorium home. The City Auditorium, now the site of Jones Hall, opened in 1910 and hosted cultural events, boxing matches, poultry exhibits, automobile shows, dances and conventions. The facility had deteriorated by 1962, and the Houston Endowment, a charitable foundation established by Jesse Jones, committed to building a new hall for the city. Four years later, the Jesse H. Jones Hall for the Performing Arts opened at 615 Louisiana Street.
• The Verizon Wireless Theater is located at the corner of Texas and Bagby in the Bayou Place entertainment complex. The theater can be set up in three distinctive seating arrangements—traditional theater rows, cabaret tables or standing room—depending on the nature of the performance.