By Bill Parry
The Long Island City arts and culture scene is about to add another institution.
Jessica Lang Dance has chosen the neighborhood for its permanent home, joining the likes of the Chocolate Factory Theater, MoMA PS1, the Noguchi Museum, Socrates Sculpture Park and the Secret Theatre.
Lang and her husband, Alvin Ailey dancer Kanji Segawa, moved into Long Island City in 2008 and noticed that a dance venue was missing from the community’s cultural landscape.
“It’s something we’ve been talking about for a long time,” Lang said. “We figured this was time to do something big and after seeing the changes over the years with all the development, we knew this is where we wanted to put down roots.”
The Jessica Lang Dance Center will open in September after renovations to a 6,100-square-foot space in a Plaxall warehouse at 5-39 46th St. It will serve as the base for her dance company with performance and rehearsal studios.
Segawa will serve as the center’s director.
“The primary goal of my job is to provide happiness to the people in the community by offering accessible dance classes to all,” he said. “After many years of my professional career as a dancer and teacher, I feel privileged to pursue my responsibility to share, inspire and contribute to the people. I also would like to make this center a bridge connecting people in the community to Jessica’s beautiful work and company.”
It will also have community space for dance lessons in creative dance, ballet and dance fundamentals for students beginning at 18 months to adults.
Borough President Melinda Katz attended the ground breaking ceremony Monday.
“Jessica Lang Dance has demonstrated commitment to education and community engagement,” she said. “The arrival of the Jessica Lang Dance Center in Long Island City is an important addition to the borough’s cultural landscape of the arts.”
Since 1999, Lang has created more than 92 works for commissions on companies worldwide, including the Birmingham Royal Ballet, The National Ballet of Japan and the Joffrey Ballet. American Ballet Theatre has presented her work at the Metropolitan Opera House.
“The creation of the Jessica Lang Dance Center will provide a home for my work and company,” Lang said. “It is an incredibly special moment in my career, and I am touched by the support I have had to make this tremendous endeavor possible. This center will deepen my artistic experience while allowing me to connect to the community in which I live. My hope is that this center will be a place for anyone to connect, imagine, move and be inspired.”
Reach reporter Bill Parry by e-mail at bparr
