Binghampton ballet company prepares $11 million move to Tillman Street

Daily Memphian
Omer Yusuf

After eight years of pirouetting and twirling on toes on Broad Avenue, a ballet company is shifting Binghampton locations for more space – positing themselves as the largest Black-owned ballet company in the South.

Collage Dance Collective is moving to the corner of Tillman Street and Sam Cooper Boulevard later this fall, occupying a 22,000-square-foot, $11 million space, enhancing the nonprofit’s vision.

Construction on Collage’s future home, 505 Tillman St., began in December 2019 and is expected to conclude next month.

Collage Executive Director Marcellus Harper said the company’s aggressive construction timeline of less than a year was crucial, especially because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Harper said if they had not worked under that schedule, it would have been “devastating for us.”

“We would have to either sit out the year, or the entire year would have been virtual,” he said. “There was no way we could’ve brought back our kids or staff or anyone safely.”

The new facility dwarfs the current Collage location at 2497 Broad Ave. in the Broad Avenue Historic Arts District, increasing the space almost 10-fold. Collage, founded in 2007, spent eight of its 13-year existence on Broad Avenue.

Five studios – two larger than the current facility – office space, dressing room, study lounge for students, 70 parking spaces, a drop-off lane and physical therapy room are included in the new building.

Collage serves nearly 500 students and has a professional dance group that tours all over the world. Students, from 2 years old to high school, and dancers perform both classical and contemporary ballet.

The new building also will allow Collage students and professional dancers to effectively social distance and minimize risk of COVID-19 spread, Harper said.

Completion of the new Collage space will be in two phases, Harper said. The conservatory spaces for students are set to be ready by October.

“It’s important that we get the building done, so we can get the school year started,” Harper said.

The conservatory school year will start virtual-only on Sept. 14, until construction is complete. Space for Collage’s professional dance company should be complete in November, Harper said.

Archimania is designing the new Collage building, while Grinder Taber & Grinder is the project’s contractor.

Collage stopped in-person classes in March once the coronavirus was first traced in Shelby County.

The remainder of the school year was virtual only, and professional dancers stopped in-person training. There were no layoffs at Collage during this time period, Harper said.

While some dance studios in Memphis reopened as early as April, Harper wanted to take time to reopen safely, especially since the majority of Collage students are African American, a demographic disproportionately affected by the coronavirus in Shelby County.

Collage purchased the land on Tillman Street from the Binghampton Development Corp. The location drew a lot of interest because of its proximity to Sam Cooper Boulevard.

BDC Executive Director Noah Gray said Collage was the obvious choice for the spot and greatly benefits the neighborhood’s long-term development.

“BDC can develop housing until we are blue in the face, or we can work to create jobs forever. We want to make progress on those fronts,” Gray said. “We’re not a healthcare provider, we’re not a school, we’re not an arts institution. All of those things collectively bring health and help the vibrancy of Binghampton. Good community development is never about just helping people survive, it’s about helping folks thrive.”

Collage has raised $9 million of the $11 million required for its new facility, and those efforts are ongoing, Harper said.

The pandemic hindered key aspects of its fundraising campaign. Collage relied heavily on in-person events that are on hold for the foreseeable future.

“Lots of people who have been impacted financially due to COVID, their capacity to contribute or support the project in some instances has changed,” Harper said.

Collage recently launched a new fundraising campaign to help raise the $2 million shortfall.

Those who donate at least $1,500 will have their name etched on the grand entry archway, Harper said. Donors who give at least $10,000 will have their names also etched on a special donor wall inside the building. 

As a performing arts company, Collage relies heavily on revenue from live performances and touring with its professional dance company. Collage is also raising funds for operational and reserve expenses, Harper said.

“Even pre-COVID, we realized that a reserve was important,” Harper said. “With COVID that has been amplified a thousand times over.”

Professional dancers will resume sessions later this fall, and Harper admits there is no way to completely eliminate the risk of coronavirus due to close contact. All Collage professional dancers will be tested every two weeks, Harper said.

“Like football, basketball, it’s really impossible to bring that risk down to zero,” he said. “At some point, the dancers are going to have be near each other. It’s just the reality.”