Daily Memphian
By Omer Yusuf
While Collage Dance Collective prepares to move into its new $11 million location in Binghampton, it was once far from certain it would remain in the neighborhood.
As discussions began over where the black-owned dance school should relocate after outgrowing its Broad Avenue location, two differing opinions were discussed among the board and leadership at Collage.
Some of the 16 wanted a location in a more prominent area of the city — Overton Square or East Memphis — for increased visibility.
A rendering shows the new Collage Dance Collective facility.
Others wanted to remain in Binghampton, because it was the best place to serve out their original vision to expose more students and families of color to the arts, in a neighborhood with a significant African American and immigrant population.
Ultimately, Collage chose 501 Tillman St. as its future home, at the intersection of Sam Cooper Boulevard and Tillman — a prominent location in Binghampton with heavy traffic and visibility.
“We love being in Binghampton,” said Collage executive director Marcellus Harper. “We’ve been a part of the major revitalization that has happened in this area, but there’s still a lot of work that needs to be done — in terms of really bridging Binghampton. Because Binghampton is pretty divided.”
Construction on the new Collage facility is behind schedule, however, in large part due to a high amount of rain this year, Harper said.
The company serves nearly 500 students and has a professional dance group that tours all over the world. Students, from ages 2 to high school, and dancers perform both classical and contemporary ballet.
Program costs for the conservatory, which is tuition-based, range from $350 to $1,500 each academic year. The cost is dependent on several factors including the student’s age and how many classes they plan to attend throughout the year.
The opening date for the new facility is set for August, in time for the new conservatory academic year, which runs from August to June. A decision on whether to start the 2020-21 academic year at the current location on Broad Avenue or the new facility will come by the end of April.
“We’re definitely going to be operational for the next school year, it’s just about when and where we are going to be,” Harper said.
The 22,000-square-foot facility is more than 10 times the size of the company’s current location at 2497 Broad Ave., in the Broad Avenue Historic Arts District.
Collage has raised $8.5 million of the $11 million needed for the new building.
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 location.
Due to its growth, Collage has had to turn some students away and temporarily pause its adult conservatory program.
Collage is working with Archimania to design the new facility. Grinder Taber & Grinder is contracter on the project.
“The more we can reflect in the design the brilliance of cultures of marginalized communities, the easier it will be to have them walk through the doors,” Harper said during the Artspace Immersion Spotlight event at Playhouse on the Square Feb. 20.
Collage hopes to be the largest black-owned dance school in the South, once it moves to Tillman Street, Harper said.
With the additional space, the professional company will increase from eight dancers to at least 20. Collage just completed its 10th professional season, which included multiple shows at the Germantown Performing Arts Center.
The company, founded by Harper and artistic director Kevin Thomas, relocated from New York to Memphis in 2007, then settled into its Broad Avenue location in 2012.
“I hope that it will allow us to create more meaningful, more powerful and stronger art,” Harper said of the move. “At the end of the day, what we’re trying to do is inspire, empower and transform peoples’ lives through training and the artistic product.”
Joy Doss’ daughter, Addison Epps, 11, has attended Collage for more than six years. Doss first met Harper when both lived in New York, about 15 years ago, prior to Collage coming to Memphis.
After moving back to Memphis in 2008, she bumped into Harper and Thomas again at Memphis International Airport and learned the two had moved to the city after relocating Collage.
A dancer for most her life, Doss knew once her daughter was old enough, she would attend Collage. Partly because she already trusted Harper and Thomas and also because she would be seeking to expose her daughter to the arts.
Doss, a public relations consultant and event planner at East West PR, said Collage’s mission and who it serves separates them from other Memphis organizations.
“I think you get a completely unique experience, but you also get a top-notch experience,” Doss said. “Whether you’re watching the professional company or whether your kid is being trained by them.”
