The next dance: The Shubert's future will be just as challenging as its past

Once the 530-seat Shubert Center opens in about 18 months, a new challenge begins: keeping the place busy and making it affordable for dance companies.

Colin Hamilton, the Shubert's executive director, said the facility will operate as a wing of Artspace Projects for at least two or three years before becoming independent.

He projects an annual budget of $2.1 million, which includes operation of the adjacent Hennepin Center for the Arts and an atrium that connects the two buildings. Ticket sales and rental income would generate between $700,000 and $800,000 annually, he said, basing that on 25 weeks a year in "mission-focused" dance programming and the rest in theater, music or corporate rental.

"It's definitely a higher-priced rental than I'm used to," said Mathew Janczewski, whose Arena Dance is using the former Guthrie Lab this season. "But ultimately, we could draw more attendance."

Zenon's Linda Andrews says that realistically, "it's going to be a leap of faith" for a while. Lise Houlton, whose Minnesota Dance Theatre has its studio in the Hennepin Center, said cost is a concern.

The Shubert will have a union-stagehands contract as a condition of its state bonding money, which means it potentially could be more expensive to use than O'Shaughnessy Auditorium in St. Paul (which is slightly larger). It definitely will be pricier than the Ritz (250 seats) or the Southern (200 seats), both of which are popular venues for dance companies. Houlton recently used the former Lab (up to 300 seats) for a production of "Carmina Burana" and said she loved the space.

Still Andrews, Janczewski and Houlton express great optimism for the Shubert, which represents a permanent, fixed venue for audiences.

"It's going to take a while to fill it," Andrews said.

Artspace president Kelley Lindquist has heard doubts from outside the dance community, and he's not impressed.

"I'd like to ask them what they feel the prospects are for General Motors or Northwest Airlines," he said. "Honestly, what's stable right now? Don't worry about the Shubert. Worry about huge corporations that have provided millions of jobs. This is really manageable."

Graydon Royce • 612-673-7299