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The Jerwood DanceHouse, a major new international centre for dance developed by national organisation DanceEast, has opened as the cultural heart of a £70 million redevelopment of the waterfront in Ipswich.As the first cultural development to be opened in Ipswich in over a decade, the £8.9 million DanceHouse designed by John Lyall Architects, provides 2,500 sq m of state-of-the-art facilities for dance, among the best in Europe, featuring: four custom built dance studios including a 200 seat studio theatre with full production facilities, dressing rooms, therapy suites, green room, new headquarters offices for DanceEast, and a café and public courtyard, with views over the fast developing waterfront.
DanceEast, under the leadership of Assis Carreiro, has expanded rapidly since its foundation in Ipswich in 1983, and is now acknowledged as one of the UK’s leading dance organisation outside London. It presents a wide programme of education and community outreach, provides support for artists and has nurtured new audiences for dance. The new DanceHouse will enable DanceEast to become an international centre for dance excellence, hosting residencies and performances by major artists.
The DanceHouse has been funded through private and public partnership, including a major Capital Lottery Grant from Arts Council England, East of England Development Agency, Wharfside Regeneration, Suffolk County Council, Ipswich Borough Council, the Jerwood Foundation, the Garfield Weston Foundation and many other trusts, foundations and individual donors.