OTF grant provides new dance floor at Imperial Theatre

The safety of performers at Sarnia’s Imperial Theatre has been enhanced.

Theatre Sarnia received a $16,300 grant by the Ontario Trillium Foundation (OTF) and held a celebration Friday evening.

Executive Director Brian Austin Jr. said the funding supports local dance organizations.

“It’s going towards [a] brand new portable dance floor. So, the dance floor is about 45 feet deep and about 60 feet wide. It allows us to put down a safe surface for the performers,” he said.

Great Lakes Dance Academy had the opportunity to use the floor over the weekend for their performance of The Nutcracker.

Austin Jr. said the dancers love it.

“The floors that we had are about 30-years-old and are starting to crumble, so the new one is just a treat for all of the dancers,” he said.

When Theatre Sarnia was made aware of the grant it was quickly purchased and installed.

The funding allows the floor’s life to be extended and will also go towards a permanent storage solution.

Austin Jr. said it was a quick turnaround from the time they found out about the grant.

“We found out at the beginning of November and we were thrilled, so we hopped right into action and we ordered it and got it rushed here so we could use it for this season,” he said.

Austin Jr. said this new floor is an industry standard.

“So, if [if dancers] ever go on to be professional dancers this is the same floor that they will be performing on,” he said.

The new floor will now allow Theatre Sarnia to book more dance acts.

Austin Jr. said any grant they receive is a huge boost to the organization.

“We don’t receive any municipal or provincial operating money, so anytime we can get a grant it really helps us provide quality content to the community,” he said.

By Lindsay Newman, CKNX NewsToday.ca