The new Gail Towbes Center for Dance opened Saturday after a ribbon-cutting ceremony by co-founders Allison Gustafson and Rodney Gustafson of Gustafson Dance and State Street Ballet founded in 1994.
The 10,400-square-foot studio will be the home for more than 500 dance students of Gustafson Dance and for the professional dancers of State Street Ballet.
The center, at 2285 Las Positas Road, will function as a locale for arts events. The community was invited to tour the various rooms within the studio.
The state-of-the-art facility was made available by a long-term agreement with developer and philanthropist Michael Towbes. The architectural plans were donated by State Street Ballet’s board member Thiep Cung of the Warner Group. Although many friends of the ballet donated funds to make this new studio possible, much of the construction and renovation was funded by Lillian and Jon Lovelace and Anne and Michael Towbes.
The professional dancers of State Street Ballet, along with the young dancers from Gustafson Dance, will perform The Nutcracker Dec. 13-14 at The Granada.
Barbara Burger represents the Gail Towbes Center for Dance.