Under Construction: BTM's New Space!
- Cindy Case
- Jun 29
- 5 min read
Have you heard the news? Earlier this year, BTM expanded our space! The new location, just a few doors down from our current Annex studios, triples our footprint on Moreland Parkway.
The company has big plans for building out the space, including two new studios for classes, a scene shop, costume and set storage, and a large multi-use rehearsal space that will reflect the size of the Maryland Hall stage. Not only will this new space allow us to work smarter as a performing arts organization and conservatory for dance, but it also has the potential to grow into a significant community resource.
We're incredibly grateful for the support of the Atsinger Family Foundation to make this acquisition possible, and BTM has been working hard behind the scenes to turn this dream into a reality.
As we develop our plans and continue fundraising, we're already putting the space to good use! Read on to look behind the scenes at how we're using the new space this summer and take a sneak peek into its future.
Putting Everything in One Place
There's a lot that has to be put together before a ballet production goes onstage.
Think about every costume piece, furniture item, handheld prop, or constructed piece of scenery you've ever seen in a BTM production. While we sometimes rent backdrops, most everything else was lovingly crafted for the stage.
When BTM premiered our current production of The Sleeping Beauty in 2024, for example, approximately 75% of the costumes were brand new. The company has been adding one new ballet or more to our repertory each year since Nicole Kelsch took over in 2020, and all those costumes and scenic pieces add up.
Being able to craft so many of our set and costume pieces in-house is a wonderful achievement for a company of our size, but storing everything had become increasingly challenging. As storage spaces became more cramped, it was harder and harder to protect these items that our team had worked so hard on.
As a short-term solution, our sets and costumes ended up being split up into a few different storage locations. Now that we've acquired the new space, it's wonderful to finally have everything in one place.
There's progress to be made with how our new storage is organized, but it's already a huge improvement. I'm sure that our Wardrobe Coordinators and Technical Coordinator have breathed a sigh of relief that they can see everything safe and sound!
Making Room for Young Dancers to Thrive
Not only has our storage been bursting at the seams in recent years, but so has our class schedule! Even with holding some classes at Maryland Hall, BTM has had the (albeit positive) challenge of trying to accommodate all of our students' needs with only two studios of our own.
Plans for the new build include two new studios, which will allow us not only to stretch out now but also to prepare for future growth.
Having all that space ready will take a little more construction, but our summer intensive dancers are already taking advantage of a temporary studio.
Although this isn't the final form for this space, it already has all the comforts of home: a sprung floor, portable barres, and rolling mirrors. What more could a dancer ask for?
With the company set to premiere a new production of Coppélia next spring, it's become a major theme of the choreography students are learning. For our Beginner/Intermediate intensive students, that's included learning Swanhilda's Act I variation with Ms. Karissa.
At the end of our young dancers' two-week program, they'll perform a few different excerpts from Coppélia along with a contemporary dance by Ms. Alyssa.
Our Intermediate intensive dancers start in July, and they'll also get to work in this space. I'll have updates on their experience (along with our 5-week Advanced program) in my next blog post.
Building It Out
Although BTM is already taking advantage of the new space, we still have some work to do for it to reach its full potential.
At our annual gala in April, Board President Edward Atsinger announced that the Atsinger Family Foundation has committed to providing long-term funding for the acquisition of BTM's new space.
Additionally, he shared that an anonymous donor had pledged a $150,000 matching gift toward renovating the new space. This was a huge boost to our progress, and we are grateful to everyone who has donated for the match so far. We hope to carry this same momentum forward as we continue to fundraise!
While the Atsinger Family Foundation has generously committed to supporting the ongoing overhead costs for the new space, we would not be in a position to fund construction without incredible support from our donors. With our community's help, there will be so many wonderful things to look forward to in this new space.
Speaking for myself, it has been such a blessing to be part of the company's transformation in recent years and, most recently, to have a front-row seat to this newest venture. Although the new space is very much still a work in progress, we can't wait to invite our community inside.
I hope you've enjoyed hearing about what we've been up to with our expanded space! We'll be back soon with more updates on the summer intensive and more.
If you're interested in learning more or helping to support our renovations, please reach out to us at 410-224-5644 or visit our Donate page.
