Another empty venue will soon be added to the several existing vacancies in Alamo Plaza. Danville Ballet Company, which specializes in dance training classes, will move out of its location at the end of August and become part of the Diablo Ballet Program in Walnut Creek.
The relocation came after the property owner, who lives in Texas and manages the property through Colliers International, recently raised the rent at Alamo Plaza.
“We are the only professional ballet school in the Tri-Valley area. It’s a terrible loss to the community,” said Rebecca Crowell, director of Ballet and Theater Arts.
While the ballet school will now get subsidies through the city of Walnut Creek, dancers and parents from Alamo and Danville will have a further journey to class. And students said they will miss their home away from home.
“It was really sudden. We basically live here,” said Georgina Partridge, a teenager who dances with the Danville Ballet Company.
Crowell said the rent had tripled since the ballet school took over the venue about three years ago. It’s really difficult to find an appropriate, inexpensive venue for the arts in the Tri-Valley area, she said.
Since the ballet company teaches children, it cannot legally occupy venues in industrial areas for safety reasons. It’s often hard to find an affordable location next to retail stores, Crowell said.
“They are not forcing us out; however, they are charging us rent so high we can’t afford to stay,” Crowell said.
Property manager Melody Texeria said she had no comment on the subject.
Alamo and Danville residents are encouraged to support the arts by buying subscriptions to their publication and making donations to the program, Crowell said. She has been involved with ballet and dance in the area for 23 years and said it’s important to value more than just shopping centers and retail in the community.
“They say it takes a village to raise a child. It takes a whole community to keep the arts alive,” she said.
Owners and management of other businesses had mixed responses to the raised rent. Some said they are also struggling to keep up, and admitted to feeling like they were stuck. Others, however, said business is going well and higher rent isn’t having much of an impact.
“They have a way of justifying their expenses and we have a way of justifying ours,” said one manager of a nearby restaurant who asked that his name not be used.
“We can’t move out, it took us 26 years to build this business,” he said.
The ballet program will resume as the Diablo Ballet Professional Intermediate Program, for students between 11 and 18 years old who seek professional ballet training. Auditions will be held in Shadelands studio Sept. 9. For more information, visit danvilleballet.org or call 831-9256.
