The Place is a

dance Dance is a performing art form consisting of sequences of movement, either improvised or purposefully selected. This movement has aesthetic and often symbolic value. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

performance A performance is an act of staging or presenting a play, concert, or other form of entertainment. It is also defined as the action or process of carrying out or accomplishing an action, task, or function. Management science In the work place ...

centre in Duke's Road near Euston in the London Borough of Camden. It is the home of

London Contemporary Dance School London Contemporary Dance School (informally LCDS) is a contemporary dance school located in London, England and a part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama. It was founded by Robin Howard in 1966 to train new dancers for his company, Londo ...

and the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, and formerly the Richard Alston Dance Company.

History

The building was designed by Robert William Edis as the headquarters of the 20th Middlesex (Artists') Volunteer Rifle Corps and built by Charles Kynoch and Company of Clapham between 1888 and 1889. It was officially opened by the Prince of Wales. The 20th Middlesex (Artists') Volunteer Rifle Corps became the 28th (County of London) Battalion, London Regiment (Artists' Rifles) in 1908. The battalion was mobilised at the drill hall in August 1914 before being deployed to the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers *Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a majo ...

. When the London Regiment was broken up and the battalions reallocated to other units in August 1937, the hall became the home of the Artists Rifles, The Rifle Brigade. The unit was disbanded in 1945, after the Second World War, but reformed again in the Rifle Brigade in January 1947 but transferred to the Army Air Corps in July 1947 as the 21st Special Air Service Regiment (Artists Rifles). The drill hall fell vacant when the 21st Special Air Service Regiment moved out to the

Duke of York's Headquarters The Duke of York's Headquarters is a building in Chelsea in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, England. In 1969 it was declared a listed building at Grade II*, due to its outstanding historic or architectural special interest. History ...

in the late 1960s. The drill hall, which had been colloquially known as "The Artists Place", became simply "The Place" when the Contemporary Ballet Trust took over the premises in 1969. In 1976 the Contemporary Ballet Trust, under the leadership of

Robin Howard Robin Jared Stanley Howard CBE (17 May 1924 – 12 June 1989) was a British philanthropist, dance patron and founder of The Place who promoted modern dance in England. Biography Early life Born in London, England, Howard was the grandson of P ...

, acquired the freehold of the premises as well as a site in Flaxman Terrace so facilitating an extension studio block to be built. In 1971

The Royal Shakespeare Company The Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) is a major British theatre company, based in Stratford-upon-Avon, Warwickshire, England. The company employs over 1,000 staff and produces around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, St ...

leased the building to provide them with a venue for new writing, experimental work and "small-scale examination of…classical work". The director was

Buzz Goodbody Mary Ann "Buzz" Goodbody (25 June 1946 – 12 April 1975)Jennifer Uglow, et al. ''The Macmillan Dictionary of Women's Biography'', London: Macmillan Papermac, 1999, p.232. As the press/opening night of Buzz Goodbody's production of ''Hamlet'' was ...

. Later in the 1970s the Contemporary Ballet Trust established the

and the London Contemporary Dance Theatre both of which were formed at The Place; in 1994 the latter body was succeeded by the Richard Alston Dance Company which remained in residence at The Place until 2020. Then in 1999 a major redevelopment programme, principally funded by the National Lottery, allowed the refurbishment of the original drill hall and the replacement of the studio block with six new state-of-the-art dance studios designed by architects Allies and Morrison. Two further dance studios, the Weston Studio and the Monument Studio, were added in 2008. From 2004 to 2013 Bloomberg sponsored

The Place Prize The Place Prize is a prestigious contemporary dance award, given to the winner of a biennial choreography competition organised by The Place in London. The Place Prize was created in 2004 and has been sponsored by Bloomberg since its inception. W ...

, a large contemporary choreography competition. In September 2007, Kenneth Tharp OBE took up the new position of Chief Executive of The Place. Tharp stepped down in November 2016 and was replaced, as interim chief executive, by Steven Browning. In summer 2017 Clare Connor was permanently appointed to the post.

References

Sources

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Place, The Contemporary dance Contemporary dance in London Theatres in the London Borough of Camden Drill halls in London