Newswise — A building that seems to move as gracefully as a dancer on the stage will be dedicated formally on Sept. 19. The Stevie Eller Dance Theatre at the UA, designed by the architectural firm of Gould Evans of Phoenix, has received the 2003 Citation Award from the AIA, Arizona Chapter. According to the design team, the structure "redefines movement at every corner of the complex and acts as a moving backdrop for the nationally recognized University of Arizona dance program."
The dedication on Sept. 19 begins with tours of the facility at 5 p.m. The formal program begins at 6 p.m. Maurice J. Sevigny, dean of the College of Fine Arts, Peter Likins, president of the UA and Jory Hancock, head of the Dance Division of the School of Music and Dance, will make remarks and participate in the ribbon-cutting ceremony.
Occupying 28,600 square feet on the east gateway to campus and the UA Mall, adjacent to the Ina Gittings Building, the new teaching and performance space boasts a 300-seat theatre with orchestra pit; full fly tower, control suite; indoor/outdoor lobby and catwalks; an outdoor stage; a scene and costume shop. Another of the innovative design features is the studio on the second floor, which is a glass box that functions as a display window to the UA Mall. The glass is protected from the elements by a scrim of woven wire rusted fabric.
Hancock, who has lived and breathed the concept, design and completion of the new Dance Theatre building for the past five years says that the UA's nationally-ranked dance program now has a world-class facility. "Our new Stevie Eller Dance Theatre provides a brilliant blend of form and function. The Gould Evans team created an atmosphere where their art and ours could be fused resulting in this stunning achievement. This building will change our lives and lives of future generations of students, artists and art patrons."
Presently, graduates of the UA's Dance Division are performing in more than 40 major professional companies and touring Broadway shows. These include the American Ballet Theater, Houston Ballet, along with modern companies such as Phildanco and Kaleidoscope. Broadway shows include "Cats," "West Side Story" and "Swing."
Sevigny comments that "this glorious new space has the power to transform the lives of all who experience it. The Stevie Eller Dance Theatre will make this outstanding program even more desirable for prospective faculty and students. I look forward to watching the program excel during the coming inaugural year and I congratulate the visionaries-architects, administrators and patrons who made this dream a reality."
Stevie Eller's love of dance prompted a gift of $1 million to the new $9 million complex. While a student at the UA, Eller was a member of Orchesis, the UA's student dance organization. She and her husband, Karl, have been strong supporters of the UA for decades in business education and now the arts. In June 1999, the Arizona Board of Regents renamed the College of Business and Public Administration after Karl Eller in recognition of his contributions to the college.
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