University of Akron
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.The University and DANCEClevelandare 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, said there is often so much demand for rehearsal space in big cities, dancers might only get a couple of hours to work at a time.
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. pr even access into a theater for the creation of new work. Getting work made is very, very difficult for dancemakers.”Young added that it’s the perfect way to invite talent from around the country to cross-pollinate with Northeast Ohio’s artistic community.“The Akron Art Museum, the Cleveland Museum of Art, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. I mean, you start to take a look at all of the unique resources in this footprint of Northeast Ohio, and we are really an incubator that would serve the dance community in a very strong way.”Young says University of Akron President Scott Scarborough is behind the new partnership and wants to highlight both the school’s artistic and engineering programs.Several dance companies will be visiting this summer to help the University of Akron tailor the choreographic center for a diverse range of visitors.