| Dancing in to take the pressure off local arts groups looking for rehearsal space is Eko Dance Projects and its new facility located at bay #9, 4005 Ninth St. S.E.
"It’s done," says Shannon Pennington, one of the board members of Eko Dance, adding that the company will have an open house to show off the space on November 4 from 4 to 7 p.m.
The 4,500-sq.-ft. facility, located near Frank Sisson’s Silver Dollar Casino, has undergone a $60,000 renovation and will be dedicated for use by performers in the movement arts.
"We want to let people know it’s available," says Pennington. "There is a real shortage of space in Calgary."
Eko, along with its partners Calgary Opera, The Banff Centre, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks, Vertigo Mystery Theatre and Ready Set (which will use the space for storage and warehousing), is providing two studios that can be rented out on an hourly, weekly or month-to-month basis. The larger studio located on the upper level of the expansive facility has multi-purpose flooring installed, while the lower studio is finished with hardwood.
Everyone from the tap-dance instructor who currently rents out one of the studios on Friday nights to professional dance companies seeking an alternate rehearsal space will be welcome at the Eko studios.
"The hourly rate is $15," says Pennington. "It makes the space very accessible."
Founded in 1990 by Erin O’Connor (Eko’s current artistic director), the not-for-profit dance company (formerly Youth Dance Unlimited) has been dedicated to getting Calgary’s youth involved in dance. Now, in addition to its youth programs, Eko Dance has expanded its mandate to include projects that promote the performing arts as a community-building tool to provide long-term benefits on a personal, interpersonal and communal scale. |
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