The Dance Collective and Parkville Sounds are collaborating to create a space for thriving Hartford artists.
“There’s so much talent all around us in this little city we’re so proud to call home. Giving artists space to create, practice, and perform is necessary to grow the arts scene,” says Parkville Sounds Founder Stephen Cusano.
“For a long time, it’s been a goal of ours to create a high-quality facility that’s accessible for musicians, dancers, and artists in the Hartford community to hone their craft and share their art,” adds Hartford Dance Collective Artistic Director Jillian Foley.
The space at 30 Arbor Street, Hartford will include a 2,300 ft2 dance studio that doubles as an event space, a large sound stage for music, four various sized practice rooms for musicians, and a private bathroom and dressing room.
“Opportunities for the arts community are endless—open classes, rehearsal and event space, workshops, music and dance lessons, video sessions, performances, and more,” notes Jillian.
This new space will become the new home to the Hartford Dance Collective’s eight female resident choreographers. “There is a need for affordable and welcoming rehearsal and performance space in Hartford, not only for us, but for the many artists who occupy the area,” says Jillian.
“We’ve found a need for professional adult open dance classes to be held in this city. There are many dance artists (or former dancers) in the area without a place to train and keep in shape and there are many members of the community looking to practice dance movement as a form of exercise, art, or meditation,” she adds. “This will be an opportunity to share dance with the community with open classes and performances in this new space.”
While Parkville Sounds already has a space of its own, the business has grown and the demand for expansion has been apparent. “With this new space, Parkville Sounds will be able to accommodate multiple creative projects at once,” says Stephen.
In fall 2018, Cusano and Foley created and produced The Parkville Sessions, a four-part series on CPTV.
During this process, the two realized how the importance of the small business and the arts community. “The growing ecosystem of artists and entrepreneurs in Hartford taught us how important creative space is,” says Stephen, “That’s why we’re passionate about providing this space.”
With funding from Kickstarter to help defray costs, the brand-new space is set to open on August 1, 2019 at 30 Arbor Street Unit B14 in Hartford.
Learn more about The Dance Collective
www.thedancecollective.org | Facebook | Instagram
READ>> Hartford-Based Dance Collective Empowers Creative Women
Find out more about Parkville Sounds
www.parkvillesounds.com | Facebook | Instagram | YouTube
READ>> Parkville Sounds Provides a Creative Space for Musicians