More Room to Move: Red Clay Dance Celebrates the Opening of Studio 3
Growth sometimes looks like a new program, a new partnership, or another artist joining the village. This summer, growth at Red Clay Dance Company became something we could literally step into.
In August, Red Clay Dance celebrated the expansion of the Red Clay Dance Center and officially cut the ribbon on Studio 3, adding a new studio to our home at 808 E. 63rd Street on Chicago’s South Side.
The expansion gives Red Clay more room to support the work already happening throughout the organization, from Company rehearsals and dance education to community programming, artist development, classes, and rentals. Studio 3 features a sprung wood floor with Marley and significantly expands the amount of space available for movement and creative practice within the Center.
For an organization whose work has continued to grow in both reach and impact, the expansion represents more than additional square footage. It creates greater capacity to serve the artists, students, families, teaching Artivists, partners, and community members who move through Red Clay each year.
Growing Our South Side Home
The opening of Studio 3 marks another chapter in the evolution of the Red Clay Dance Center.
Since establishing our home on 63rd Street, the Center has become a place where professional dance, training, education, community, and cultural exchange meet. As those activities have grown, so has the need for space to support them.
The expansion into the neighboring unit allows Red Clay to build upon that foundation while remaining rooted in the community we call home.
This next chapter was made possible with support from the City of Chicago Department of Planning and Development through the Neighborhood Opportunity Fund, The Chicago Community Trust, and Greenwood Archer Capital. Their investment helped make the physical expansion of the Red Clay Dance Center possible and represents an investment in the continued presence and growth of arts and cultural infrastructure on Chicago’s South Side.
A Moment Worth Celebrating
To mark the milestone, members of the Red Clay village, supporters, partners, and community joined us for a ribbon-cutting celebration at the Center.
The occasion gave us an opportunity to celebrate not only the opening of a new studio, but the collective effort that has made Red Clay’s continued growth possible.
Every new chapter in our Herstory has been built alongside a village of people who believe in the power of dance, Black artistic expression, education, and community. Studio 3 is no different.
And while the ribbon has officially been cut and the studio is open, there is still work ahead. Additional investments in audiovisual technology, infrastructure, and security will help us fully equip the expanded space and prepare it to serve our community for years to come.
Studio 3 gives us more room to rehearse, more room to teach, more room to gather, and more room to create.
Most importantly, it gives us more room to continue putting Artivism in Motion.
