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'New York-style' dance studio underway

Which way to Queens (Street)?

Exeter College's new facility will be available for community use

Exeter College is building a major new gym and dance facility, based along New York loft lines. It's creating a two-storey extension to the three-year-old sports complex built on its Victoria Yard campus off Queen Street.

 

Work on the £2.4 million centre is already underway, with completion expected next summer. The two-storey extension will have floor-to-ceiling windows and a sprung floor in which dancers will be able to see out, and viewers (if anyone's passing) able to enjoy the spectacle from the outside.

 

College principal John Laramy says it's another stage along the journey of continual progress at the Ofsted-rated 'outstanding' college. He says: "Our gym is popular with students across the college, but it needed to be revamped. While we were looking at that we realised our dance floor is adequate but it's not exceptional. So we thought we'd create a fantastic new facility that could be used by students and also by the community. The big advantage is that it will create additional space so we can enhance a number of subjects. We've gone for what we call a New York-style dance floor where you'll look out through the vertical bars, like one of those elite dance floors. It will similar to viewing New York, except you'll be seeing a bit of Exeter."

 

Exeter-based Grainge Architects have designed the building, which will house the gym on the ground floor and dance studio on the first floor. Mr Laramy says one of the advantages will be the link to the sports hall, thus providing extensive changing facilities and showers, which many dancers suggest adds to the quality of the experience.

 

And as for dancing by college principals, he admits: "I'm limited. Probably somewhere between Theresa May and Darcey Bussell."

 

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