The Ketchikan Theatre Ballet is moving locations after nearly 40 years in their downtown building. The nonprofit dance school will be moving its classes to the former Holy Name Catholic School by next year.
They’re outgrowing the aging building. That’s why Ketchikan Theatre Ballet director Claire Stickwan believes the move is a good thing.
“It’s so necessary. I don’t think people realize how long we’ve been patching things up here to make this space work for what we need to,” Stickwan said. “The building’s just very old, and there’s just a lot that needs to be renewed, but the space wasn’t perfect to begin with.”
Stickwan said the current building needs costly repairs. It has heating and ventilation issues, deteriorating floors and low ceilings. The downtown location makes parking difficult during the busy summer months.
Holy Name Catholic School, around a mile and half from downtown, permanently shut their doors this summer. Stickwan said the space already has the general facilities they need because the building was constructed to be a school. But the work will need to happen fast. Between now and the end of the year, they need to install mirrors, ballet barres and dance floors. Still, the project is expected to cost less than repairing the current building — and last longer than patchwork fixes.
“With a combination of some of the things that need to be done on this building and that building opening up, and our lease expiring, it kind of fell into place,” Stickwan said. “So, from my perspective, it’s a little bit of a risk to move, but it’s also a little bit of a risk to stay.”
Stickwan said the move is bittersweet. All of the current Ketchikan Theatre Ballet staff were once students there.
But Stickwan says the dance school is growing, and they need the room to do it.
“Even this year as I was building the class schedule, it’s almost like there’s not enough hours in the day because we have more classes and more kids that are interested.”
The new building will give the nonprofit more space — they won’t have to pay for a storage unit and they’ll even be able to add an additional studio.
Ketchikan Theatre Ballet’s next performance is The Nutcracker on Dec. 4, 5 and 6 in the Kayhi auditorium. Stickwan said they plan to finalize the move after that wraps and will be open in their new location in January.
