About
March 23, 2019
Our fundraising campaign raised $12,000 in 2 months. We so greatly appreciate the effort that you all made to support BkSD ❤️
A massive thank you to our crowdfunding contributors, with special thanks also to Chris of Hur for hosting the PURSUNtv x BkSD benefit show at Eris Evolution, and mille grazie to Wanda Cookie for hosting the BOULANGERIE benefit show for BkSD in London!
Your generosity helped to pay for alternative spaces for BkSD events while our building’s heat was off, and covered costs incurred by our artists as a result of these interruptions. Funds also helped to cover BkSD’s legal costs during this time.
We are still waiting to have a hearing in Kings County Supreme Court. It is our goal to eventually resolve the dispute with the church through mediation. In the meantime, we will continue to operate the studio and update you on our legal progress.
Despite these challenges, our priority is producing an excellent season of dance and performance. Artists are some of the most creative, adaptive, and brilliant cooperators who discover and maintain the spirit of today. BkSD is a space for inspired gestures and shared experiences that carry our creative will forward — our season is an expression of that direction.
2015
Launched in May 2015, Brooklyn Studios for Dance is a newly renovated space inside the historic Cadman Congregational Church in Clinton Hill, Brooklyn. Inspired by a shared reverence for gathering space, the church congregation and the dance community entered a partnership to share a facility. The mission of BkSD is to serve the professional art community while at the same time building a culture of local engagement that responds to the interests of both communities.
Since officially opening its doors, BkSD has offered a variety of classes, workshops, presentations and performances to the professional and non-professional community. For its initial launch, BkSD engaged over 500 participants and over 50 teachers and artists.
BkSD’s renovation effort of the 1920’s era gymnasium was initiated and designed by Pepper Fajans. Together with a volunteer community of dancers, Fajans transformed the 30’ x 60’ column-free space into a vibrant dance studio, with a sprung marley floor.
Read: “Pepper Fajans Makes Brooklyn Studios for Dance a Blessed Refuge” NY Times article.
Read: “Space, Unfounded” on Culturebot for more of our backstory, or watch this video:
