NEW SEATTLE ARTS CENTER OPENS.

SEATTLE--On the Boards, an organization known for taking artistic risks, celebrates its twentieth anniversary with perhaps its riskiest venture thus far--acquiring and renovating a new dance facility, recently named the Behnke Center for Contemporary Performance, that will have a million-dollar operating budget for the season.

"The move to remodel was definitely a step up for us, a survival technique, really," says artistic director Mark Murphy. "We had a choice to make--to take the next step and control our future by building the performance space we wanted and needed, or to follow the pattern of other presenting organizations by downsizing or closing down completely." The $4,200,000 cost of purchasing and renovating the facility was funded by both public and private sources, with the Behnke family providing the largest contribution from an individual donor.

"On the Boards focuses on erasing the borders of both theater and dance to find a new form of expression more relevant to issues of the day," says Murphy. "We've never wavered from our main mission, which is developing and presenting local, national, and international artists who are on the forefront of the evolution of their field."

A December world premiere by 33 Fainting Spells typifies the On the Boards adventurous artistic approach as well as its commitment to collaboration with other presenting organizations. Maria The Storm Cloud, co-commissioned by On the Boards, New York City's Dance Theater Workshop, and Houston's Diverseworks, opens at On the Boards December 3 to 6 and then tours twelve cities.

A Seattle-based company, 33 Fainting Spells was founded four years ago by choreographers Dayna Hanson and Gaelen Hanson. "Just the inventiveness of the choreography would be enough to merit the artistic acclaim they get," says Murphy. "But they also wrap it in a very smart theatrical package, striking a wonderful balance between the athletic precision of American modern dance and the subtle mystery of European dance theater."

On the financial side, Murphy thinks that the new facility's income-generating retail space will help On the Boards gain "more income each year than we ever received from the NEA in any one year." Until now, he explains, "We've had to rely heavily on ticket sales." Murphy admits that money is increasingly scarce for presenters.

"We're constantly moving toward a goal that's a shifting target," says Murphy. "Now we have a million-dollar budget, but really we've been a million-dollar organization for the past five years. We've cut so many corners and had to find ways to do the impossible on a shoestring; now we're elated to have the chance to make money with our new facility."