Michael Scott, Vancover Sun, 07/15/01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>New dance centre's light and airy space a big creative boost</B><BR>Everyone's on their toes as the most important facility in Vancouver's history of dance is set to open<P>In a gleaming new third-floor rehearsal studio at the Scotiabank Dance Centre, the just-laid floor is fastidiously clean, the windows to the rooftops of downtown Vancouver are sparkling with sunlight and the air, pumping in silently from a central conditioning unit is cool and fresh. Only one panel of a floor-to-ceiling mirror remains to be installed behind the barre and the room will be complete. "Mirror mirror not yet on the wall," a wag has scrawled on the drywall, "Where the hell are ya?"<P>Except for the mirror, the only thing that the studio still awaits is a line of dancing feet.<P>"How will it all work out? I don't think anyone really knows yet," says Kevin Myers, the executive director of Ballet British Columbia, the centre's primary tenant. "Certainly we are discovering that we must be more organized earlier in our own seasonal planning process, in order to meet the expectations of a shared facility like this.<P>"There's no other example of a ballet company in North America working out of a community-based building, so we are feeling our way through this to some extent.<P>"I do believe that the dance centre is going to be shocked by the difficulties of running such a big building. It takes a lot of time, being a landlord." <P><HR></BLOCKQUOTE><B>more...</B><P><B>The Dance Centre's Website</B>- <A HREF="http://www.vkool.com/dancentre" TARGET=_blank>http://www.vkool.com/dancentre</A> <p>[This message has been edited by Marie (edited August 16, 2001).]

Visiting Vancouver last November, we saw the skeleton of this building under construction whilst we were touring the city. It looked to be a lovely and ambitious project. I am so glad that Vanouver's dance community really has a "hub" now!! We look to hear more about it!! Maybe I didnt' read far enough in the article, but I am curious how they put together the financial package to get this done...I'll go back and check this out again! It looks like Ballet BC was the prime mover behind the project.

Trina, Ballet BC is just a tennant in the building. The people that organized the financing for this project were The Vancouver Dance Foundation in concert with The Dance Centre and the dance community at large. You can read more about the project in the Facility Report of the<A HREF="http://www.vkool.com/dancentre/newsletter/index.html" TARGET=_blank>'<B>Dance Central</B></A>,' The Dance Centre's newsletter.<BR>I attended many meetings and brainstorming sessions regarding the Scotiabank Dance Centre, it's nice to see it finally coming together...

Michael Crabb - National Post, 09/06/01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Finally, a stage and home to call their own</B><BR>Vancouver's Scotiabank Dance Centre opens after a long struggle over money and bylaws<P>Now, at last, they have the building. The big question is, will it fly? A variety of cost overruns and the decision to complete Erickson's design by adding a fan-shaped glass and steel canopy over the roof patio means that despite an impressive fundraising campaign the foundation still has to find as much as $500,000 to pay off all the construction bills. Discouragingly, in late July, city council rejected the foundation's request for $100,000 in additional funding.<P>Grant Strate, one of the elder statesmen of Canadian dance and a foundation board member, is sanguine. "None of us is feeling panicked by the situation," says Strate. "Now that it's up, the building is getting a lot of attention." McCullough agrees. "People are getting hugely excited," he says. "We now have a window of opportunity to fulfil our ambition to have the building fully paid for by year end."<P>McCullough is hoping to sell naming rights on the performance studio seats for as much as $1,000 a pop and he's hoping to get a lot more for the library. The foundation also hopes to raise $2-million in the next two years to establish an endowment that, among other things, can underwrite community-oriented projects.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><a href="http://www.nationalpost.com/artslife/story.html?f=/stories/20010906/686511.html" target="blank"><B>more...</B></a>

A press release:<P> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR>Scotiabank Dance Centre officially opens as ribbon is cut by donors and supporters<P>Dance community builds its future in new home -- Canada's first comprehensive shared centre for dance<P><BR>VANCOUVER, Sept. 7 /CNW/ - Marking the official opening of Vancouver's long-awaited new home for dance, Scotiabank Dance Centre, Bruce Birmingham, President of Scotiabank, senior government officials, and dance community leaders cut a 30' long ribbon on Thursday, September 6, 2001.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><P><a href=http://biz.yahoo.com/cnw/010907/scotiabank_centre_1.html target=_blank>More</a>

Michael Scott - Vancouver Sun , 09/13/01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Invitation to the dance</B><BR>New Scotiabank Dance Centre hosts week of performance, events.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE>[url=http://www.canada.com/vancouver/vancouversun/story.asp?id={71224D11-8BEF-44E1-907E-C3E4AA8A5C61}]<B>more...</B>[/url]<P>

Kaija Pepper - Vancouver Courrier, 09/17/01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Dance centre has busy future</B><P>But can the impoverished, marginalised art form of dance afford this luxury? The dance community has often expressed concern over the way this huge project has dominated the working hours of The Dance Centre. Zagar is convinced the money that funded the centre wouldn't have come to dance in any other form. She believes it "offers the first step towards building the infrastructure for dance and offering dance greater visibility." <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><B>more...</B>

Alexandra Gill - Globe & Mail, 09-19/01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>New digs for B.C. dance</B><P>More than just catalyzing emotions, however, this palatial new facility -- the only one in North America specifically designed for shared use among different dance genres -- is widely expected to spark a new synergy in the dance community. "This building is going to offer a physical home and public visibility for a community that has been dispersed and invisible for too long," predicts Mirna Zagar, the Dance Centre's executive director.<HR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>To read more, search <B>Alexandra Gill</B> on the <A HREF="http://www.globeandmail.com" TARGET=_blank>Globe & Mail's</A> 7 Day Search<P>

William Littler - Toronto Star, 09/22/01:<BR> <BLOCKQUOTE><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial">quote:</font><HR><B>Vancouver finally gets permanent dance centre</B><P>Dance in Vancouver has traditionally been something of a kinetic smorgasbord, ranging from ballet to contact improvisation, with flamenco, Indian bharata natyam and Chinese folk styles among the side dishes. The only thing it has lacked is a real home.<P>That situation has now dramatically changed, with the opening this week of the Scotiabank Dance Centre, the first building in Canada specifically constructed as a home for the resident dance community. With any luck, it may serve as a prototype for the rest of the country. <HR></BLOCKQUOTE><B>more...</B>