BALLET X HQ
2018 / Philadelphia, PA
ART OFF THE AVENUE
Philadelphia’s Avenue of the Arts along Broad Street is home to many of the city’s major arts organizations including The Pennsylvania Ballet, Opera, Orchestra and several dramatic theaters. BalletX, a widely celebrated and innovative local ballet company, chose to locate their headquarters away from the institutional center of the art scene, instead choosing an existing warehouse on Washington Avenue, a corridor transitioning from a truck-oriented industrial and commercial thoroughfare that divided neighborhoods to a more socially connected neighborhood center. The project serves as a platform for the organization, whose unique, distributed model of practice includes dance performances and education outreach in a variety of public and private venues across the city.
STAGE PRESENCE
The design is organized around the dance floor, with a bleacher for public viewers along the front edge and administrative and back of house functions at the rear. The exterior of the building was subtly manipulated to maximize branding while appropriately keeping most of the investment on the inside. All three edges bring different audiences and participants in contact with the creation of dance.
BROADCAST STATION
The BalletX HQ acts as a stage for social media, serving as a backdrop for the company’s Instagram, Facebook, Twitter and online presence. The space is a platform for reaching a broader audience crossing age, race, and economic boundaries and exposing the process of rehearsal and performance in contemporary ballet and choreography.
BACK OF HOUSE
Supportive programming including a kitchen and lunch break area as well as bathrooms, lockers and a massage room for dancers are tucked under a mezzanine level containing the BalletX offices. This efficient layout also allows staff to watch dance rehearsals through large glass panels overlooking the main floor.
