Dancehouse Theatre, Art Deco theatre in Oxford Road, Manchester, England.
Dancehouse Theatre is a converted 1930s cinema building on Oxford Road with around 430 seats. It combines original Art Deco features with modern theatre facilities and houses five dance studios, a café, and a sprung-floor stage.
The building was constructed between 1929 and 1930 by Emmanuel Nove and initially served as assembly halls before becoming a cinema. It was the world's first multiplex before being transformed into a dance education center in 1994.
The building houses the Northern Ballet School, where dancers train and regularly perform. This blend of education and performance shapes the character of the space and makes it a living center for dance.
The venue is easily walkable from Manchester city center and offers multiple indoor spaces for different activities. Visitors should keep in mind this is an active training and performance center, so some areas may not always be publicly accessible during certain times.
The building was the world's first multiplex cinema and still displays its original Art Deco details despite its modern use. Its conversion into a dance venue showed how historic structures can be successfully adapted for entirely different purposes.
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