Dance Hub fox trots closer to completion

RPS has topped out Birmingham Royal Ballet’s brand new Dance Hub, a multi-purpose space which will provide capacity for the Ballet to stage an additional 100 performances every year.

RPS’s Birmingham office has provided cost consultancy, project management and principal design services for the 7,265 sq ft, £3.5 million development, which is being constructed above the Birmingham Royal Ballet’s existing rehearsal space.

When completed the facility will feature a separate rehearsal studio, changing facilities, new offices and meeting rooms.

A series of complex works have been undertaken as part of the project, including pilling seven metres beneath the building to strengthen the structure in preparation for the additional 125 tonnes of structural steel.

Khumehra Mohammed, RPS, said: “It’s extremely rewarding to see the Dance Hub edging closer and closer to completion, and it’s great to be involved in a project which will support so many talented performers and enable the Ballet to produce more fantastic shows.”

The Dance Hub will create 17 new jobs and five new apprenticeships, with capacity to welcome 15,000 additional audience members each year.

Fiona Allan, Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Birmingham Hippodrome, said: “This latest infrastructure development here on our busy site makes us the biggest UK dance collective outside London, with improved facilities, a significant arrival in our 120th Anniversary year.”