“Dance should speak in vivid images with strength and at the same time with beauty.”

                – E. Virginia Williams, Founder

 

  • New Building Opens

    04 September 1991

    In September of 1991 the brand new Boston Ballet studios at 19 Clarendon Street officially opened. The new space, designed by architect Graham Gund, was built on the site of the decaying Pennock Building, a converted parking garage, which had been the company's home since 1975. The new building added over 40,000 square feet to the previous space, with a main studio designed to provide rehearsal space equal to that of the stage at the Wang Center.

     

    New Building at 19 Clarendon Street
    Photograph by Nina Berger
    Boston Ballet Archives
  • Citydance

    10 October 1991

    Boston Ballet's Citydance program officially kicked off on Thursday, October 10, 1991. The program was, "designed as a long-term project that, over many years, will integrate the professional company so that it reflects the city's multicultural population" (Patti Hartigan, The Boston Globe, October 11, 1991). Bruce Marks told the Globe, "This is about giving young people the chance to be who they can be: an artist, a dancer, a choreographer, or even an artistic director".

     

    In the first year Citydance auditions were held at 37 schools in Boston and Lynn, with nearly 300 students attending Citydance sessions at the 19 Clarendon Street Studios.

     

    Bruce Marks with Citydance Students, circa 1991
    Photograph by Jerry Berndt
    Boston Ballet Archives
  • New Building Opens
  • Citydance