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The new Philadelphia Ballet building acts as a literal beacon for the arts on North Broad Street. The four-story façade of stainless-steel panels is topped by a rehearsal space with floor-to-ceiling, wrap-around windows that cast a glow across Broad at night.
“I think that that’s a great way to introduce dance to the community,” Artistic Director Ángel Corella said. “Before we were almost hidden in the back. Now we’re very present on North Broad. We’re hoping that the Avenue of the Arts could be extended because we have The Met a few blocks up.”
The Ballet spent $35 million of a $50 million capital campaign to expand its cramped headquarters in a former garage on Wood Street set back from Broad. Professional dancers with the company often had to squeeze around students of the ballet’s school, sharing rest areas that were, in reality, hallway floors. There was never enough room for the administrative staff, some of whom worked in rented offices on South Broad a quarter mile away.
Due to structural limitations, little could be done to expand the original brick building. The new addition is a five-story tower in front of the original building, bringing the ballet’s presence up to the Broad Street curb. The new construction quadruples the company’s square footage.
“The dancers keep saying, ‘Now it really feels like a real company,’” Corella said. “It’s not only a building but the heart and the life of the dancers for what they have to do to be able to do what they do on stage. They’re athletes and they deserve a space that not only is going to take care of them physically but also emotionally.”