New dance hub set to open in Brighton and Hove next year

Brighton-based arts charity South East Dance celebrated the highest point of the city’s new home for dance being reached.

Related stories: Work begins on Circus Street dance centreWork begins on 'new cultural quarter' for Brighton​The ‘topping out’ of The Dance Space was attended by two of the city's MPs Lloyd Russell Moyle and Peter Kyle, and funders and supporters including Peter Heslip, Arts Council England's director of Visual Arts & Brighton; and Nick Hibberd, executive director for economy, environment and culture at Brighton and Hove City Council.

When The Dance Space opens in 2020 it is set to offer a wide range of classes, projects led by local people and performances from its three state-of-the-art studios and performance space.

There will also be an entire floor of rentable shared workspace for creative industry professionals, as well as a permanent home for South East Dance.

At the event on Friday, Cath James, artistic director of South East Dance, said: “This is a momentous and symbolic moment and the result of more than a decade of hard work in the passionate belief that Brighton and Hove needs a place to dance. We want to thank everyone who has supported us to get here and can’t wait to welcome the whole city into the building when we open in 2020.”

Lloyd Russell-Moyle, MP for Brighton Kemptown, said: “It’s a real privilege to represent a community so renowned for its arts and performance. This new dance hub is only going to enhance that reputation and not just benefit Brighton and Hove but the whole of the south east. This project hasn’t just happened though, it is down to the hard work of so many who are now having their vision realised and for that I would like to congratulate them warmly.”