The Place is a

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

and

performance A performance is an act or process 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. Performance has evolved glo ...

centre in Duke's Road near Euston in the

London Borough of Camden The London Borough of Camden () is a London boroughs, borough in Inner London, England. Camden Town Hall, on Euston Road, lies north of Charing Cross. The borough was established on 1 April 1965 from the former Metropolitan boroughs of the Cou ...

. It is the home of

London Contemporary Dance School London Contemporary Dance School (informally LCDS) is a contemporary dance school located in London, England. Previously part of the Conservatoire for Dance and Drama, since 2022 LCDS has been independently registered with the Office for Stud ...

and the Robin Howard Dance Theatre, and formerly the

Richard Alston Dance Company The Richard Alston Dance Company was a medium size, British contemporary dance company that was formed in 1994 after the demise of the London Contemporary Dance Theatre, based at The Place in London London is the Capital city, capital an ...

History

The building was designed by

Robert William Edis Colonel Sir Robert William Edis (13 June 1839 – 23 June 1927) was a British architect. Early life Edis was born in Huntingdon to Emma and Robert Edis, also an architect. His sister was the preacher Isabella Reaney, his brother was Arthur Well ...

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 Prince of Wales (, ; ) is a title traditionally given to the male heir apparent to the History of the English monarchy, English, and later, the British throne. The title originated with the Welsh rulers of Kingdom of Gwynedd, Gwynedd who, from ...

. 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. 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 World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

, 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, London, 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 i ...

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, 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 opens around 20 productions a year. The RSC plays regularly in London, Strat ...

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) was an English theatre director. Associated with the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) for almost all of her short career, Goodbody is remembered for her sometimes politically charged exper ...

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

and the

London Contemporary Dance Theatre The London Contemporary Dance Theatre (LCDT) was a contemporary dance company, based at The Place, founded by Robin Howard with Robert Cohan as its Artistic Director. Founded in 1967, and strongly influenced by the ideas of American modern and p ...

, both of which were formed at The Place; in 1994, the latter body was succeeded by the

which remained in residence at The Place until 2020. Then in 1999, a major redevelopment programme, principally funded by the

National Lottery National Lottery may refer to: *National Lottery (Ireland), the state lottery of Ireland *National Lottery (United Kingdom), the lottery franchise in the United Kingdom *South African National Lottery, established in 2000 *A number of countries con ...

, 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 Allies and Morrison LLP is an architecture and urban planning practice based in London and Cambridge. Founded in 1984, the practice is now one of Britain's largest architectural firms. The practice's work ranges from architecture and interio ...

. Two further dance studios, the Weston Studio and the Monument Studio, were added in 2008. From 2004 to 2013,

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

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