A five-year quest to bring the world's dancers to Northeast Ohio culminated today with the announcement of the National Center for Choreography at the University of Akron. From Ohio Public Radio station WKSU Kabir Bhatia reports.
The University and DANCECleveland are launching the choreography center thanks to a $5 million grant from the Knight Foundation.
It's only the second facility of its kind in the country. The other is in Florida.
DANCECleveland's Executive Director, Pamela Young, says there is often so much demand for rehearsal space in big cities, dancers might only get a couple of hours at a time to work. But Akron's seven new state-of-the-art studios will attract talent from around the country.
"They could do research around the topics of what they want to create. They could be given space in a dance studio. Or even access into a theater for the creation of new work. Getting work made is very, very difficult for dancemakers."
Several dance companies will be visiting this summer to help the University of Akron tailor the choreographic center for a diverse range of visitors.