Newton Studio Grand Opening

Schedule of Events

Wednesday, September 6, 2017

9:00 am Doors Open

9:15 am Ribbon Cutting Ceremony

9:30 am Children’s Program and Adult Dance Program Faculty Meet and Greet Ballerina Bun Station

10:00 am Free Adult Dance Program Class Free Children’s Class

10:30 am Free Children’s Class

2:00 pm Children’s Program Faculty Meet and Greet Ballerina Bun Station

2:30 pm Classical Ballet Program Faculty Meet and Greet Free Children’s Class

3:00 pm Boston Ballet II Lecture and Demonstration

3:30 pm Free Children’s Class

4:30 pm Boston Ballet II Lecture and Demonstration Free Children’s Class Company Dancer to Sign Autographs

5:30 pm Classical Ballet Program Placement Class and Information Session for Parents Free Children’s Class

6:00 pm Boston Ballet II Lecture and Demonstration

7:00 pm Free Adult Dance Program Class

9:00 pm Doors Close

FAQ: Boston Ballet School’s New Studio in Newton, MA

What is the address of the new location? 153 Needham Street, Newton, MA 02464. The building was formerly the TripAdvisor headquarters.

What is the name of the architecture firm that designed the new studio? Gensler, a global architecture, design, and planning firm, designed the new studio.

Who had input into the new design? School leadership partnered with Gensler and heard from more than 400 constituents. Parking and security were top priorities. Constituents also voiced the need for common areas for students and their families, and easy access to amenities.

How long has Boston Ballet School had a studio in Newton, MA? Boston Ballet School has had a presence in Newton for more than 30 years and remains dedicated to serving Newton and surrounding communities with excellent dance programs for all ages and levels of dance ability.

Why is Boston Ballet School moving locations? The studio’s move and expansion was prompted by Mark Investments’ purchase of Boston Ballet School’s existing space at 863 Washington Street in Newton in January 2016, combined with the need to serve growing demand in the western suburbs.

Was there a fundraising campaign for this project and how much did it raise? The fundraising campaign called the “Campaign for Newton,” led by Campaign Chair and lead donors Pixley and Kenneth Schiciano, raised more than $3,000,000—achieving its goal and helping to fully realize the vision for the new studio.

How big is the new space? The new facility is 26,550 square feet and has a total of seven studios—two more than the Washington Street location.

What else is near the new location? Just off I-95 and Route 9, Boston Ballet’s new studio is part of a complex called Newton Nexus, owned by developers Crosspoint Associates. The location is part of the N2 Innovation District and provides free parking, on-site dining and retail options, with new retailers such as TJ Maxx, Sierra Trading Post, bfresh, and Boston Ski & Tennis.

Are photos available? Photos can be found here.

For more information, visit bostonballet.org/school or call 617.456.6333.

BIO: TAMARA KING, Newton Studio Principal, Boston Ballet School

Tamara King became principal of the Newton Studio and the Summer Dance Program Newton in 2004. During her tenure, Newton has become the hub of the Classical Ballet Program, which offers a carefully constructed 10-level curriculum. King has also guided the studio toward establishing strong ties with the city of Newton, becoming an executive leader in the Newton Cultural Alliance, as well as launching a partnership with Lasell College where she resides on the advisory board of the Humanities department.

King began her training with Suzanne Johnston, Soili Arvola, and Leo Ahonen. Her association with Boston Ballet School began in 1981, when she studied with Violette Verdy, Helgi Tomasson, and Ivan Nagy as a Summer Dance Program scholarship recipient.

Later that year, she launched her professional career, joining Louisville Ballet and then accepting an invitation from Bruce Marks to become a member of Ballet West in Salt Lake City, Utah. With Ballet West, she danced a variety of principal, soloist, and corps roles in such classics as The Sleeping Beauty, Giselle, and The Nutcracker. She has performed in Sir Frederick Ashton’s The Dream and George Balanchine’s Allegro Brillante, Bugaku, Concert Barocco, Symphony in C, and The Four Temperaments. From 1987 until her retirement in 1993, she again danced for Mr. Marks, this time as a member of Boston Ballet. She appeared in the celebrated “glasnost” Swan Lake, staged by Konstantin Sergeyev and Natalya Dudinskaya.

King was invited to join the faculty and direct the Summer Dance Workshop at Walnut Hill School for the Arts in 1994. Under former BBS Director Rachel Moore, she returned to Boston Ballet School in 2001 to teach on a full-time basis and to lead the Summer Dance Program in 2002. In addition to her teaching and leadership roles, King has regularly choreographed for the annual Spring Showcase, creating the productions Alice in Wonderland; Never, Neverland: The Adventures of Peter and Wendy; and Seasons.

King has guest taught for the esteemed American Ballet Theatre Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School as well as the University of North Carolina School of the Arts, and Harvard University. She also serves as a participating juror for the prestigious Japan Grand Prix Competition in Tokyo, Japan.

BIO: JEANNE NUTT, Co-Managing Director and Principal, Gensler

Jeanne Nutt is Co-Managing Director of Gensler’s Boston office, an international design firm. With her teams, she creates a range of experiences and places for a variety of clients throughout Boston and beyond. Her portfolio includes a range of project types, including law firms, financial service firms, consulting, and media companies; current and recently completed projects include The Boston Globe, PwC, Nixon Peabody, WilmerHale, and L.E.K Consulting.

Since joining Gensler’s Washington, D.C. office in 1991, Nutt has proven herself as a valuable resource for the firm and extended real estate community. Clients and colleagues seek her counsel for her ability to leverage industry’s best practices in many arenas.

A lifelong ballet lover and advocate of the arts, Nutt joined Boston Ballet’s Board of Overseers in 2011. With her interior design expertise, Nutt brings a unique perspective to the Board. In addition to Boston Ballet’s Board of Overseers, Nutt is a member of International Interior Design Association and serves on the Board for Youth Design and the Board of Directors for CoreNet Global New England.

Nutt recently combined her passions for design and ballet, serving as the Principal-in-Charge of the relocation and renovation of Boston Ballet School’s Newton Studio. The expanded, state-of-the-art facility features extended studio space, as well as improved common areas and amenities for students, families, and staff. Through a rigorous pre-project research project with more than 400 constituents, the design team culled insightful input for each user type, which ultimately informed the design.

BIO: PATRICIA NOBRE, Designer, Gensler

Patricia Nobre is a multi-cultural and multi-talented designer. She has more than 10 years of experience designing learning spaces throughout Latin America, the Middle East, and the United States. Her project experience ranges in scale and scope from the redesign of single learning labs to large-scale planning projects. A socially conscious designer, Nobre is driven to create equitable and environmentally-responsible designs that foster deep learning for all.

Nobre has a Bachelor’s Degree in Architecture and a Bachelor’s Degree in Urban Planning from the University of Sao Paulo. She also has a Master’s Degree in Architecture from the University of Massachusetts and is pursuing a Master’s Degree in Education from Harvard University.

Her international experience and academic background have taught her the power of design in informing the efficacy of learning. They have empowered her to engage educators, learners and the broader community to jointly reimagine the next generation of learning spaces.

Engaging more than 400 voices within the Boston Ballet community, Nobre and the design team captured the views, aspirations and challenges of Boston Ballet—distilling the core values that would inform the design of the new studio. Nobre led the design of a space that will celebrate and reflect the many identities of the ballet community and become a home for all of those wishing to pursue their passion for dance. Through inclusive design, the spaces cater to a broad spectrum of users and activities, hosting the next generation of world-class dance education.

As a strategic designer of learning spaces, Nobre has brought a different lens, but a common passion, to rethinking dance education and instilling the love for dance.