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Under new ownership, Kerry Hall is abuzz with music and dance

Oaxaque
Freddy Monares
/
KNKX
Oaxaqueño dancers practice a routine inside a dance studio at Kerry Hall on Wednesday, Jan. 09. Seattle Theatre Group has plans to preserve the space as an arts hub, offering low-cost rehearsal and practice space for artists and nonprofits.

On a recent Wednesday morning, music and dance filled Kerry Hall on Seattle's Capitol Hill.

"You hear that noise? You hear that? I don't know, we haven't heard that noise," said Marisol Sanchez Best, director of education and community engagement at Seattle Theatre Group. "It's kind of like a brand new baby that you're hearing cry for the first time. I'm hearing the brand new baby cry for the first time."

Sanchez Best was specifically referring to folclórico dancers Bailadores de Bronce stomping onstage in the building's 190-seat theater. She led press on a tour of the building to showcase STG's vision for it.

In what was formerly a classroom on the first floor, Brazilian jazz pianist Jovino Santos Neto rehearsed with a drummer and a bassist. On the second floor, a sitar player practiced with two other classical Indian fusion artists. And in one of three dance studios on the top floor, Oaxaqueño dancers ran through a routine.

Seattle Theatre Group is preserving the 104-year-old Kerry Hall as a space to create art, music and dance. STG, which operates theatres like The Moore, The Paramount and The Neptune, bought the building from Cornish College for $6 million in November. The organization estimates it will cost a little more than $1 million to run it annually for the first three years.

The space will allow STG to expand at least 10 of its programs, including More Music at the Moore, DANCE This and Broadway Inclusion Program. The organization also hopes to connect with more members of the community.

Sanchez Best said the biggest impact will be on the organization's AileyCamp, which offers free dance and percussion lessons with the aim of personal development for children in middle school. The camp previously had capacity for up to 50 students.

"With this new location we're able to expand to the 100 students, and this is one of the biggest wins for us," she said.

Sanchez Best said the building has more than 30 rooms.

"Can you imagine this at 30-something capacity in this space?" she asked. "With all of the cultural groups that we work with, all the artists that we work with in the space? Like, this — to me — is a game changer in Seattle."

The 31,900-square-foot building includes a recording studio, rehearsal rooms and meeting rooms. STG said it will rent some of that space to artists and other nonprofit organizations at an affordable rate.

STG Executive Director Josh LaBelle said, as a musician, he knows the importance of low-cost rehearsal space.

"It's just critical," he said. "And I know the importance of preserving cultural space. We've seen too much of it disappear in this community, and we just couldn't let this place go down."

Chief Operating Officer Nate Dwyer said the building is ready for its new tenants.

"We don't have to do much," he said during a press conference. "It's functional today."

Dwyer said STG is a steward of historic spaces and that it's a privilege to keep places like Kerry Hall accessible to artists.

"These buildings hold like an energy when they serve this purpose," he said. "And to be able to ensure that the vibrations continue for another generation is our mission."

Freddy Monares has covered politics, housing inequalities and Native American communities for a newspaper and a public radio station in Montana. He grew up in East Los Angeles, California, and moved to Missoula, Montana, in 2015 with the goal of growing in his career. Get in touch at fmonares@knkx.org.