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Debbie Allen Dance Academy

Los Angeles, California

Gensler partnered with the Debbie Allen Dance Academy to design its new Shonda Rhimes Performing Arts Center, a top-tier arts venue that supports the nonprofit organization’s commitment to expanding the reach of dance and theater arts to enrich the lives of young dancers in the Greater Los Angeles area. The design team transformed and added to a former warehouse in Mid-City to create a two-story dance center and performance space, equipped with state-of-the-art amenities, a studio theater, and lobby and gallery areas that encourage dancers to gather and socialize.

The new 25,000-square-foot performing arts facility triples DADA’s space, expanding from four dance studios to five, larger studios, and also features classrooms, larger staff workspaces and student locker rooms, and a second-level outdoor terrace. At night, the second-story addition, featuring channel glass walls, acts as a lightbox beacon that glows to showcase the dancers inside, creating a captivating billboard for dance.

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