First State Ballet’s new studio in Whitehall is under construction with the help of a $300,000 grant from the Longwood Foundation.
The ballet company’s primary location is Wilmington’s Grand Opera House, where they have operated since 1999. The new facility will welcome new students and offer a more convenient location for current dancers coming from downstate, such as Angela Zielen Epps, who is in her tenth season with First State Ballet and currently commutes to the Wilmington facility.
“I would travel to First State to take classes whenever I could, but living in slower lower Delaware, that was quite challenging,” Zielen Epps said. “It would add an hour on top of hours of training, and it just wasn’t possible after school. So, I think it’s amazing for people that are living further south to have access to this.”
First State Ballet’s board president Frank Obara describes the Wilmington location, a historic building with limited natural light, as a “utilitarian, Spartan environment.” Meanwhile, the new studio will boast many windows and high ceilings.
Obara emphasizes this as part of the studio’s commitment to community engagement, adding that ballet “takes a village.”
“As a parent, my daughter started dancing with the First State Ballet in 2004,” Obara said. “Within a year or two, somehow I got roped on stage. So, I was an extra in the Nutcracker, I was helping out backstage, I was moving sets. Just the community in that aspect, we’ve had parents volunteer, we’ve had other people from the outside who have no connection with the ballet that come help.”
The new studio will offer classes for seniors and parents to attend with their children. A partnership with Ducklings Early Learning Center will also provide new dance classes for kids.
The studio is also located across from Whitehall Elementary School, which may be a place to recruit additional students, Obara adds.
The Whitehall location is expected to be ready for classes on November 1st. Until then, First State Ballet is renting another space nearby for the start of its season in September.
