About the Facility

Scotiabank Dance Centre opened in September 2001 in the  heart of downtown Vancouver, a stunning $10.5 million (CAN) state-of-the-art project designed by Architectura in collaboration with the renowned Canadian architect Arthur Erickson, and a major development in the history of dance in Canada. The 32,000 sq ft, seven storey, glass-enclosed building is believed to be unique in North America: a purpose-built, shared use facility, which provides a diverse dance community with a new home and raises the profile of dance in the city and beyond.

In 1986, The Dance Centre originated a project to provide a creation centre including high-quality rehearsal and some administrative space for Vancouver's dance community, and secured Federal and Provincial government funds for this initiative. The Dance Centre created The Dance Foundation in 1995, an independent not-for-profit society to fundraise for, construct and own the building now named after its major sponsor, Scotiabank.

Construction began with a groundbreaking ceremony on April 11, 2000. On August 17, 2001, Governor General Adrienne Clarkson unveiled a plaque dedicating Scotiabank Dance Centre to the dance artists of Canada. Shortly afterwards, on September 6, the building was officially opened by Bruce Birmingham, President of Scotiabank, at a formal ribbon-cutting ceremony attended by hundreds of sponsors and supporters. This was followed by a week-long public celebration September 17-23, Let's Dance!, in which thousands of spectators enjoyed performances, demonstrations, workshops and spectacular aerial dances on the exterior.

Today the facility houses classes, performances, workshops and events year-round, and attracts an estimated 60,000 visits a year.

Scotiabank Dance Centre houses six spacious studios, all two stories high with specially designed sprung floors and air conditioning. Five are equipped with mirrors and barres, and flooded with natural light; the sixth is a black box performance and production space with retractable seating for 154. Studios are available for rent for rehearsals, classes, workshops, performances, photoshoots, filming and a wide variety of functions and events.

The building also has changing rooms with showers, a laundry, a dancers' lounge with kitchen facilities, and a Dance Therapy Clinic. Its administrative offices house The Dance Centre (which also manages the operations of the facility) including its video library and editing suite; Ballet British Columbia; Judith Marcuse Projects Society; Vancouver Ballet Society, with its library and archives, and Dance International magazine; and New Works.