The Kalamazoo Ballet Capital Campaign
Build the Future.
Help create the physical foundation for Kalamazoo Ballet’s next chapter.
We have an extraordinary opportunity to transform existing downtown space
into professional studios designed for serious ballet training, rehearsal,
artistic development, and community connection.
Your support can help turn that vision into the spaces dancers need to
learn, work, grow, and perform for years to come.
Concept rendering of the proposed studio buildout.
The Space Today
Transformation Is Already Underway.
The future studio space began as an existing commercial interior —
divided by partitions, covered in outdated finishes, and never designed
for the physical demands of serious dance training.
Demolition and early preparation are already underway. What comes next
is the work that turns an empty floor into a professional ballet
environment: new construction, sprung flooring, Marley surfaces,
mirrors, barres, and the specialized infrastructure dancers need.
Existing interior before studio buildout.
Demolition underway.
Preparing the space for construction.
The Vision
A Space Built for Ballet.
The goal is more than a beautiful studio. It is a purpose-built
environment designed around the way dancers actually train: professional
flooring underfoot, clear sightlines, appropriate barres and mirrors,
room to move fully, and spaces that support focused daily work.
The result will be a place where dancers can train safely, rehearse
seriously, and continue building on a ballet tradition that has been
part of Kalamazoo for generations.
Proposed studio concept.
Professional flooring, mirrors and mounted barres.
Purpose-built space for daily training and rehearsal.
Campaign Priorities
What Your Gift Builds.
Capital support helps turn raw commercial space into an environment made for dancers. Gifts to the campaign can support the construction, specialized flooring, equipment, and studio infrastructure required to create professional spaces for training, rehearsal, and artistic work.
Demolition & Construction
Removing existing partitions and finishes, constructing new walls, creating functional studio divisions, and completing the carpentry and finish work needed to transform the existing interior.
Sprung Dance Floors
Professional sprung floor systems create a resilient surface beneath the dancer, helping absorb repeated impact and providing a foundation designed specifically for sustained dance training.
Marley Flooring
Professional vinyl dance surfaces installed over the sprung floor provide the traction, consistency, and finish ballet dancers need for daily technique, pointe work, and rehearsal.
Mirrors
Full studio mirrors provide essential visual feedback for alignment, placement, coordination, and ensemble work throughout a dancer’s training.
Barres
Properly installed ballet barres at appropriate heights provide the stability and functionality required for foundational work from beginning training through advanced technique.
Studio Infrastructure
Lighting, electrical work, sound, storage, hardware, and other practical systems help turn finished rooms into studios that work safely and effectively every day.
Campaign funds will be directed toward eligible capital improvements, equipment, and infrastructure that support Kalamazoo Ballet Company’s charitable and educational programs.
From the Ground Up
What Dancers Feel Begins Beneath Their Feet.
A professional dance floor is more than the surface you see. Beneath the
Marley is a carefully built system designed to create resilience, consistency,
and appropriate shock absorption for dancers training day after day.
These are the kinds of specialized investments that turn ordinary rooms
into spaces truly made for ballet.
Every finished studio begins with the structure beneath the dancer.
Marley provides the professional surface dancers train and rehearse on every day.
More Than a Studio
A Welcoming Home for the Work.
A serious artistic environment begins in the studios, but it extends
beyond them. Thoughtful shared spaces help dancers prepare, families
connect, faculty work, and a community gather around the daily practice
of ballet.
Through its close partnership with Tye Chua Dance, Kalamazoo Ballet can
help support the specialized spaces and resources that allow its
charitable education, performance, and access programs to thrive.
A place built not only for classes, but for belonging, preparation, artistry, and what comes next.
Concept rendering of the shared lobby and arrival space.
Ways to Participate
Help Build the Future.
Every part of this project represents an opportunity to invest in ballet in Kalamazoo. Whether you make an individual gift, underwrite a significant piece of the buildout, partner through your business, or contribute materials and expertise, your support can become part of the space dancers use every day.
Make a Capital Campaign Gift
Gifts of every size can help fund construction, professional flooring, mirrors, barres, studio equipment, and other campaign priorities. Capital campaign gifts will support the physical resources that make this work possible.
Fund a Meaningful Piece of the Project
Significant gifts can help underwrite major components of the buildout, from professional dance flooring to studio infrastructure. Kalamazoo Ballet welcomes conversations with individuals and families interested in making a lasting investment in the project.
Become a Corporate Partner
Businesses and organizations can participate through charitable support, project underwriting, sponsorship, or customized partnership opportunities that connect local investment with arts education and cultural life in Kalamazoo.
Contribute Materials or Expertise
Construction materials, professional services, equipment, furnishings, and other in-kind contributions may help stretch campaign dollars further while directly supporting the transformation of the space.
However you choose to participate, you can help create something dancers will feel beneath their feet and carry with them far beyond the studio.
Make a Capital Campaign Gift
Help Build What Comes Next.
Your gift can help transform existing downtown space into professional studios designed for training, rehearsal, artistic development, and community connection.
Gifts made through this form are designated to the Capital Campaign — Build the Future fund and support eligible capital improvements, equipment, and infrastructure advancing Kalamazoo Ballet Company’s charitable and educational programs.
Rooted in Downtown Kalamazoo
A Historic Home for What Comes Next.
Kalamazoo Ballet’s story has long been intertwined with the life of
downtown Kalamazoo. Today, its next chapter is taking shape inside
historic City Centre — once home to Gilmore Brothers Department Store,
a landmark that served generations of Kalamazoo residents for more than
a century.
That setting feels especially meaningful. Our commitment to downtown is
not simply about where we train. It is about remaining part of the civic
and cultural life around us — through performances, educational
opportunities, community partnerships, free public appearances, and
participation in downtown traditions such as Art Hop.
Building these studios is an investment in dancers, but it is also an
investment in the continued presence of the arts in the heart of
Kalamazoo.
Generations have passed through this building before us. We are building a place for the generations who come next.
Kalamazoo Ballet Company is a Michigan nonprofit corporation and 501(c)(3) public charity. Contributions are tax-deductible to the extent permitted by law.
Capital campaign gifts support eligible capital improvements, equipment, and infrastructure advancing Kalamazoo Ballet Company’s charitable and educational programs.
Kalamazoo Ballet Company and Tye Chua Dance are separate legal entities.
Kalamazoo Ballet Company · EIN 23-7109725