SALT LAKE CITY – A grand opening was held Friday for a ballet center in Salt Lake City that sits right next to the Capitol Theatre.
The Jessie Eccles Quinney Ballet Center is a 55,000-square foot building, and the new state of the art facility features five studios, a rooftop reception area and an expanded lobby that connects to the Capitol Theatre.
The new center is a permanent home for Ballet West, considered one of the top ballet companies. Those involved with the project, the dancers in particular, said the new center will shape ballet and the arts in Salt Lake City for generations to come.
“This is where people train to become ballet dancers, and they can walk right through the lobby and into the theater and see, and correlate, wait, 'That building is where they learned how to do it, and that's where they go and do it,'” said Christopher Ruud, Principal Dancer for Ballet West. “I think it's just going to welcome legions of young dancers into our halls and into our studios.”
The ballet center has been 14 years in the making, and the $33 million price tag was met through a combination of private and public funds.
Visit Ballet West’s website for more information about their new home.
