View Full Version : NYC: Ballroon on Fifth moving (closed for June)
Chris Stratton
05-27-2007, 10:57 AM
I was kind of hoping there'd be some sort of official press release beyond the signs posted in the studio, but since there hasn't and the date is almost upon us:
Ballroom on Fifth in its present 5th avenue incarnation will be closing at the end of the month. One of the two current owners, David Rosario, will be opening a new studio ("Ballroom off Fifth" until there's a better name) a few blocks north on 37th street, hopefully in early July. The new one is supposed to be bigger and better, though I've only been past outside so far.
They are moving the lockers as a unit to storage Monday morning, and things of obvious value belonging to those over at Blackpool, but anyone local should try to get in there this weekend and get there stuff (which of course officially wasn't supposed to be left in the studio in the first place).
There are some arrangements with the Dulaine studio on 31st street for use in the interim, but I think there are going to be a lot of NYC standard dancers looking for a new temporary home!
samina
05-27-2007, 11:01 AM
wow... that's big news...
Wow ! Didn't know about that. Seems kind of like the end of an era. But, who knows maybe the new place will be better. More space will surely help !
In the meantime, seems like the other studios will be a little crowded for the month of June. Gang way - no floor craft here : ) One of these days ...
Yikes, I'm going to be in New York exactly for June...I was hoping for some standardy socials to go to...
Is there any news about what Wendi Davies is planning to do?
fascination
05-27-2007, 02:06 PM
bummer...dh and I went there a few summers ago for a social while in town and found it so charming
Chris Stratton
05-27-2007, 10:49 PM
Is there any news about what Wendi Davies is planning to do?
As a guess, what she was doing before as a teacher and judge but without the background headache of studio ownership.
In other cities there may be a real advantage to owning your own studio, in NY where so many studios welcome independent teachers in most cases it's a much better deal to simply pay floor fees and walk out the door with freedom after the last lesson.
But Ballroom on Fifth offered a floor and an environment more suited to high level standard than anywhere else in the city, so I think a lot of us are pleased that David is determined to recreate that. As the studio is being packed up, there's a very real sense of continuity that the studio will continue, and a lot of optimism that the new location will be a new home.
samina
05-28-2007, 07:34 AM
David is determined to recreate that. As the studio is being packed up, there's a very real sense of continuity that the studio will continue, and a lot of optimism that the new location will be a new home.
am very glad to hear that
Was the lease on the old space lost?
Chris Stratton
05-29-2007, 10:44 PM
Second to last day on the old floor... all the furniture gone so it's bigger, but many couples still practicing down to the wire. There's going to be some nostalgia for that place. Back tomorrow for a last waltz or something.
Google's new toy showing the home of memories (http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=en&q=319+5th+avenue+new+york&sll=40.751077,-73.985281&sspn=0.007673,0.014591&ie=UTF8&ll=40.748318,-73.985313&spn=0.001918,0.003648&z=18&om=0&layer=c&cbll=40.747333,-73.985367&cbp=1,135.4,0.5,0) (Can't "walk" down the cross streets in google yet to see the future home.)
White Chacha
05-30-2007, 07:31 AM
Well, that was nostalgic. Really close to where my dad's office was way back. Who knew it was so close to a studio back when I had no idea what a ballroom studio was ;-)
amdan
06-06-2007, 02:21 PM
Was the lease on the old space lost?
Sorry to just catch up on this thread.
My understanding was the lease contained a clause which allowed the landlord to cancel it with appropriate notice, and that's what happened. Not surprising given that commercial rents are rising again in New York.
Katarzyna
06-06-2007, 02:27 PM
So how has everyone been dealing with this so far.. what's the best space people found.. Taking this week off and next week going to California for work, but would like to have an idea where to practice when I get back..
I was at DNY last night and there were only a few people there who were formerly at Ballroom on Fifth - Ieva was one of them. I heard a lot of people are going to Stepping Out because it is in the same part of town as BoF.
Sorry to just catch up on this thread.
My understanding was the lease contained a clause which allowed the landlord to cancel it with appropriate notice, and that's what happened. Not surprising given that commercial rents are rising again in New York.
What isn't? :rolleyes:
Katarzyna
06-07-2007, 06:37 AM
I was at DNY last night and there were only a few people there who were formerly at Ballroom on Fifth - Ieva was one of them. I heard a lot of people are going to Stepping Out because it is in the same part of town as BoF.
We checked it out on tuesday, but the floor is so tiny there... :(
shallidance
06-07-2007, 07:53 AM
how does stepping out charge floor fee?
I was at DNY last night and there were only a few people there who were formerly at Ballroom on Fifth - Ieva was one of them. I heard a lot of people are going to Stepping Out because it is in the same part of town as BoF.
gingerbread
06-07-2007, 08:55 AM
We checked it out on tuesday, but the floor is so tiny there... :(
I have seen more people at Dance New York because of the quality of the floor. The floor at SO does not compare. My take.
Katarzyna
06-07-2007, 09:12 AM
I went to DNY to drop something off and saw a ton of people too.. I find the floor at stepping out and DNY similar.. Not a big fan of either, but both of the will do for a while I think..
Chris Stratton
06-07-2007, 01:06 PM
My understanding was the lease contained a clause which allowed the landlord to cancel it with appropriate notice, and that's what happened. Not surprising given that commercial rents are rising again in New York.
That could have been a contibuting factor, but it was not the whole story - for it to happen this quickly, the landlord had to buy out the lease, not cancel it, and he was only able to do that because there were other factors in favor of moving/reorganizing.
Chris Stratton
06-07-2007, 01:11 PM
I went to DNY to drop something off and saw a ton of people too.. I find the floor at stepping out and DNY similar.. Not a big fan of either, but both of the will do for a while I think..
DNY is great from 8:55 pm to 9:55 pm... before that, it's latin couples all over.
That could have been a contibuting factor, but it was not the whole story - for it to happen this quickly, the landlord had to buy out the lease, not cancel it, and he was only able to do that because there were other factors in favor of moving/reorganizing.
Which were?
Katarzyna
06-08-2007, 08:17 AM
DNY is great from 8:55 pm to 9:55 pm... before that, it's latin couples all over.
is that every night?
Chris Stratton
06-08-2007, 08:40 AM
My spies tell me there was a larger ballroom presence at DNY last night, and without group classes closing off part of the floor. There's probably a pattern, but as outsiders who knows what it is.
Joe... talk to the principles some time if you are curious for more details.
gingerbread
06-08-2007, 08:55 AM
My spies tell me there was a larger ballroom presence at DNY last night, and without group classes closing off part of the floor. There's probably a pattern, but as outsiders who knows what it is.
Joe... talk to the principles some time if you are curious for more details.
I have been there most of this week and itdefinitely empties out after 8, but I really have not had a hard time moving before that, and I do Smooth.
Chris Stratton
06-08-2007, 09:01 AM
I really have not had a hard time moving before that, and I do Smooth.
Well that explains it... you're used to detouring around people doing latin in poorly chosen spots on the floor ;-)
Fouette
06-08-2007, 09:47 AM
DNY has sections cordoned off for the moving dances versus the more stationary ones. They're not clearly marked, but you will usually be asked to move if you're dancing the wrong dance in the wrong section. Mornings, early afternoons, and late evenings (after 8pm) are generally pretty empty; the ballroom gets busy around 4-5pm until 8. Aside from group class days and days leading up to an important (most often pro-am) competition, it's usually not a problem to do open-level standard even at peak times. Just think of it as an exercise in floorcraft!
saludas
06-08-2007, 10:14 AM
Yes, many of the standard couples were not following the LOD instructions and there were a few near-misses as the ballroom couples careened over Latin couples in their space. The space requirements are posted on all 4 walls and are different for opened space and when the place is somewhat closed off.
gingerbread
06-08-2007, 10:26 AM
Well that explains it... you're used to detouring around people doing latin in poorly chosen spots on the floor ;-)
You made me laugh out loud, well said!
What socials are people going to instead?
Chris Stratton
06-09-2007, 12:20 PM
No idea... there's one at Dance NY tonight...
Chris Stratton
06-11-2007, 09:48 AM
Yes, many of the standard couples were not following the LOD instructions and there were a few near-misses as the ballroom couples careened over Latin couples in their space. The space requirements are posted on all 4 walls and are different for opened space and when the place is somewhat closed off.
You know, after your post I double checked all the signs again this weekend, and it was pretty clear that my earlier suspicion was correct: the latin couples were in fact distrubuted all around the floor, not just in the areas where they were supposed to be. At times they would not have all fit there, at other times they would have but some still chose to be elsewhere.
Which means that the situation simple reverts to one of using good floorcraft, and whatever space is available at a given instant in time.
HeadLeft
08-01-2007, 11:02 AM
Does anyone know if Pierre Dulaine's studio or Stepping Out is better for standard practice? I'm looking to practice tonight after work, around 7 or 8 PM.
Chris Stratton
08-01-2007, 11:15 AM
My revised understanding is that the arrangement with Dulaine's is only available for lessons, not for practice. Also, it was only available under that during the day and on Sundays.
Dance NY has seemed to be a bit better on Wendesdays than some of the other days.
Stepping out may be crowded (of late when there is a class going on they've sometimes been telling practice couples who didn't have advance reservations to come back later - unfortunatley, a reservation doesn't determine which space you can use)
Chris Stratton
08-07-2007, 04:03 PM
NYT article link made me do a keywords double take:
"Fifth Down: A Ballroom as Practice Facility"
Alas, it's a about the Florida Buccaneers practicing in a hotel ballroom on account of a heat wave...
samina
08-07-2007, 04:31 PM
lol... i can understand why
NYT article link made me do a keywords double take:
"Fifth Down: A Ballroom as Practice Facility"
Alas, it's a about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers practicing in a hotel ballroom on account of a heat wave...
FTFY
Chris Stratton
08-08-2007, 08:47 AM
Hey, the article said they were dripping gatorade into the carpet of a perfectly good ballroom, does it really matter where they are officially from. Oh, wait, carpet??? they can have it!
tangotime
08-08-2007, 08:55 AM
Hey, the article said they were dripping gatorade into the carpet of a perfectly good ballroom, does it really matter where they are officially from. Oh, wait, carpet??? they can have it!
New carpet anyone ?? ( dont forget who owns the Falcons -- Mr home depot ! )
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