Forming and running a successful dance company has never been an easy feat. Company budgets are filled with expenditures that include studio booking costs, dancers’ fees and administrative salaries. Finding ways to balance those expenses while choreographing quality work is a challenge every company director must face. The cost of studio space in New York City, a necessary expense for the creation of work, has become increasingly expensive due to the escalating prices of real estate over the past ten years. The price hikes, in turn, have had a trickle-down effect into some of the dance field’s deepest crevices. Choreographers can’t find places to rehearse, the quality of work is affected, and spaces where dancers once congregated and conversed have become fewer as lease agreements end and annual rental rates increase.

Because the demand for studio space is high, and spaces that were once extant no longer exist, companies find themselves reserving space many weeks in advance. "I have a 9-member ensemble and people get confused when you’re dealing with so many different [dancer and studio] schedules," says Seán Curran, a Manhattan-based dancer and choreographer. "Then once you get in that space, you feel pressured to watch the clock since there’s so little time that you have to work with the dancers."

Even in upstate New York where studio space may appear to be more available, access to rehearsal space is often reserved for companies that have commercial viability in the surrounding area. Byron Suber, a choreographer and Professor at Cornell University, says, "Unfortunately, there’s not a lot of guidance or support for smaller companies creating experimental or non-ballet oriented work. Young choreographers interested in pushing the boundaries of traditional forms have to compete with larger ballet companies who’ve been using that same studio for many, many years."

In response to this dearth of available studios, some dance and presenting organizations have devised grants and subsidies for companies who have approaching performances or commissions. The Harkness Foundation supports a space grant program at the 92nd Street Y, and the Gowanus Arts Exchange in Brooklyn offers free space through a competitive application process. Facilitating the development of choreographers’ work through a mentorship program, the Joyce Soho offers an eight-week intensive residency program and also provides studio space at low subsidized rates. Danspace Project, Inc. also rents their rehearsal studios at low costs to companies they are presenting. Presently, the standard unsubsidized rate for a moderately sized studio (800 square feet) runs anywhere from $15 per hour to $25 per hour.

"Most studios are rented for classes and give preferences to people who regularly use their space," says Sudha Seetharaman, of Trilok Fusion, a Brooklyn-based dance company. "So finding space can be frustrating." For these reasons, many company directors have been moving to Brooklyn to find spaces where they can both live and work. Cathy Weis, Artistic Director of the Roxanne Dance Foundation, has been looking for a live/work space in Brooklyn after working out of Manhattan for approximately fifteen years. "I use a lot of heavy technological equipment in my work and since I share a studio with three other people, I have to set everything up and take everything down," she says. "I need to be in a place where the work can develop between and during rehearsals, which is why Brooklyn is one of the only feasible and affordable locations."

Many dance companies have signed shares with other companies to retain good studio space. But if the building is a commercial space, the subsequent year’s taxes and interest rates may raise the rent another 20 to 25 percent, driving the renters out in search of a new place to rehearse. Dance Space, for example, the home to almost 3,000 jazz, modern and ballet students, recently lost its lease and has had to continue its classes at Hunter College and at an interim space in SoHo.

"The issue of space is one of a number of continual factors that affect the field," says Cathy Edwards, Director and Producer of International Programs at Dance Theatre Workshop. "It’s one of the field’s realities." With this reality in mind, the best tactics are to reserve space as early as possible and coordinate the dancers’ schedules beforehand. It’s also helpful to have a prepared list of at least 15-20 studio spaces. Go down the list and establish contacts with the people who run the spaces. "Those choreographers who develop relationships," continues Edwards, "are the ones who get the first cracks at the space. Often trust and reliability are the contingents for holding on to that studio."

Jyoti Argadé is a Program Officer in NYFA’s Grants Department.

Contacts

92^nd Street Y Space Grant Program
1395 Lexington Avenue
New York, NY 10128
Phone: 212-415-5554

Danspace Project, Inc. at St. Marks
131 East 10^th Street
New York, NY 10003
Phone: 212-674-8112

Gowanus Ats Exchange
421 Fifth Avenue (at 8^th Street)
Brooklyn, NY 11217
Phone: 718-832-0018

Joyce SoHo
155 Mercer
New York, NY 10013
Phone: 212-431-9233