While this doesn't seem to have touched dance as yet - it surely may in the future.<P>From the Boston Globe:<P><B>Making room for the arts in Pawtucket</B> <P>By Cate McQuaid, Globe Correspondent, 5/20/2001 <P><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>PAWTUCKET, R.I. - Unless they're bound for a minor-league ballgame, most people who travel Route 95 between Boston and Providence see Pawtucket as just a dot on the map south of the Massachusetts border. It's a hardscrabble industrial city of 73,000, full of abandoned factory buildings. But if residents and city officials have their way, Pawtucket is on the cusp of a cultural renaissance.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><BR><A HREF="http://www.boston.com/dailyglobe2/140/living/Making_room_for_the_arts_in_Pawtucket+.shtml" TARGET=_blank><B>MORE...</B></A><BR>

It's an interesting idea and seems to be working well for those involved. Fine artists can set up just about anywhere where they have good light. <P>However, the experience of London is that dance artists want to be here where the bulk of the UK dance companies are located, there are a lot of professional classes that they can move around, performances that they can see and other dance artists that they can discuss matters with. <P>Thus I'm not convinced that moving to a place like Pawtucket is an attractive option. But given the increasing financial difficulties that dance artists in the major cities face in the US perhaps it will become a survival tactic. Nevertheless, to be cut off from a vibrant dance scene is not a good option for most. <P><p>[This message has been edited by Stuart Sweeney (edited May 20, 2001).]