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SALT LAKE CITY -- Ballet West is about to have a new home, and the Capitol Theatre a new look. The cost: $32 million. Representatives from the arts community and elected officials gathered Monday for the announcement.
The new facility will be part of the downtown Salt Lake City revitalization program. The public-private partnership project has been in the works for seven years. At one time, plans were to build it in Sugar House, but Ballet West's home has always been in the city and it appears it will remain so.
The plans unveiled Monday include a renovation of the Capitol Theatre, located at 50 W. 200 South, and the construction of a new facility on the lot just west of the theater.
"Our dancers don't have to leave now; they don't have to drive anywhere. They come here, and they're here for the day," said Shari Quinney, Ballet West Capitol campaign chair.
The new building will house a new ballet academy, rehearsal halls and costume space -- which are all in other locations now. This, company leaders say, will bring growth.
"With our Academy, we know we have the potential to double or more our student body," said Adam Sklute, Ballet West artistic director.
County and city leaders talked about this property and the value of its future development from an economic standpoint.
"I think as we look at a nighttime event for the city, having a solid arts district is important," said Salt Lake City Councilman Carlton Christensen.
The new facility, the Jessie Eccles Quinney Center for Dance, is named for a woman who loved Ballet West and the arts.
"She and Joe both realized that they were essential to our culture and to our society and to a vibrant and progressive city," said David Quinney, board member of the S.J. and Jessie E. Quinney Foundation.
Willem Christensen choreographed and produced the first "Nutcracker" in America; he also founded Ballet West. His widow said he would be so pleased about the announcement.
"He's up in heaven saying, ‘This is a wonderful day.' We've been working for and hoping for, and finally we're seeing some realization," Florence Christensen said.
Everyone involved is hoping for a 2013 completion date -- the year of two very important anniversaries: the 50th anniversary of Ballet West and the 100th anniversary of the Capitol Theatre.
Of the $32 million needed to build the expansion, $12 million has already been raised. The ballet needs to raise $6 million more.
The aim with the academy and renovations to the theater is to build a larger audience. Construction of the center will not begin right away, rather sometime in the spring of 2012.
E-mail: cmikita@ksl.com
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