Birmingham Hippodrome has been awarded £4.48 million to expand, enhancing the city’s ambition to create a national home for dance.
The Dance Hub Birmingham physical space development will create 17 jobs, five apprenticeships and enable an extra 100 dance performances to be staged each year.
The fourth floor of the Hippodrome above Birmingham Royal Ballet will have a rooftop extension which will house a new dance studio, changing facilities, office space and two meeting rooms.
Arts Council England has contributed £3 million, with the rest of the money coming from the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership (GBSLEP).
The Hippodrome’s artistic director and chief executive Fiona Allan said, “this is thrilling news for Birmingham, home to the largest cluster of dance companies and performers outside London.”
Anita Bhalla OBE, board director for creative industries at GBSLEP, added, “our investment will bring significant economic and cultural benefits to our young and diverse population.
“The project will attract more dance companies from across the country to this new space, creating more jobs and opportunities for our growing leisure tourism sector.”
Peter Knott, Arts Council England’s area director, said, “we’re delighted to have the Greater Birmingham and Solihull Local Enterprise Partnership investing in and working alongside Birmingham Hippodrome, Birmingham Royal Ballet and other partners, helping to turn the plans for the Dance Hub Birmingham into reality.
“The new collaborative space will be a great addition to the city and will make a real difference to artists, producers, curators and dance sector professionals in the Midlands as well as the audiences who support them.”
The development is scheduled to be completed in May 2019.