Members of Cambridge’s dance community are planning “Circling the Dance Block – a Visibility Dance in Cambridge” for noon on Sunday, Oct. 27, in response to Green Street Studios announcement yesterday that the dance rehearsal and performance space plans to shut down on Oct 27 after 28 years in operation.

“It will be an incredible loss to that community that is already lacking space,” says Callie Chapman, founder and director of Studio at 550 located at 550 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge, who is spearheading “Circling the Dance Block.” She has been involved with Green Street Studios as well as the Dance Complex over the years. The three institutions have represented a vital hub for “the support of movement in Cambridge and Greater Boston.”

“It’s not going to fix anything,” Chapman says of “Circling the Dance Block.” “It’s more like a visibility effort to say that we are here and there are a lot of us and sometimes you don’t see it. … It’s something for the [dance] community themselves to gather energy for whatever comes ahead.”

“Circling the Dance Block - a Visibility Dance in Cambridge” planned for noon on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019.
“Circling the Dance Block – a Visibility Dance in Cambridge” planned for noon on Sunday, Oct. 27, 2019.

The Facebook event page explains: “In the wake of the news of Green Street Studios closing we are organizing a visibility dance that circles the block surrounding 3 dance organizations in Cambridge, Green Street Studios, The Dance Complex, and Studio at 550. We invite you to line up on the sidewalk at noon on the last day of operations for Green Street and be visible outside of the dance studios and along the sidewalks that connect them. If only in solidarity and celebration of 28 years that GSS has supported dancemaking in Greater Boston, but also to forge our own future to help sustain the future of dance in Cambridge by being visible en masse. You may bring signs, small gestures to pass along the line, or anything else that says ‘we are here.’”

Previously: Green Street Dance Studios To Shut Down Due To ‘Significant Rent Increase’


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