Philadelphia Ballet officially opened the doors to its new Center for Dance on North Broad Street with a three-day Grand Opening Celebration, September 17–19, 2026.
Harlequin Floors was proud to join Philadelphia Ballet, supporters, partners, and members of the arts community for the Spotlight Soirée Gala on Thursday, September 17, kicking off a weekend celebrating an exciting new chapter for the organization.
The signature gala gave guests an opportunity to experience the newly completed Center for Dance while enjoying performances by Philadelphia Ballet artists, live music, curated culinary stations, and behind-the-scenes access throughout the building. Guests explored four floors of newly unveiled and reimagined spaces, including the new Dance Innovation Lab, rehearsal studios, and other spaces designed to support the Ballet’s artists, students, and creative work.
The celebration continued Friday with an official ribbon cutting ceremony attended by Philadelphia Ballet leadership, elected officials, sponsors, partners, and members of the media. On Saturday, the Ballet welcomed the broader Philadelphia community into its new home with a free, family-friendly Open House and Community Celebration.
A New Home for Dance in Philadelphia
Located at 323 North Broad Street, the five-story, 43,000-square-foot Center for Dance represents a major expansion of Philadelphia Ballet’s campus. Designed by Varenhorst Architects, the glass-and-steel building includes new rehearsal studios, a black-box performance space, administrative offices, and additional spaces supporting dancers, students, artists, and staff.
Harlequin Floors worked closely with Philadelphia Ballet throughout the development of the new facility to provide professional dance flooring designed for the demands of an internationally recognized ballet company.
As part of the selection process, Philadelphia Ballet staff and dancers visited Harlequin’s New Jersey showroom to test flooring options and determine which systems would best support their training, rehearsal, and performance needs.
Three rehearsal studios feature a custom four-layer Harlequin WoodSpring® sprung floor topped with Harlequin Studio™ performance flooring. The black-box performance space combines Harlequin WoodSpring® with Harlequin Standfast™, while the Pilates room features Harlequin Liberty LatchLoc® panels.
Each flooring system was selected to provide the consistency, support, and protection dancers need while accommodating the different uses of each space.
Celebrating a New Chapter
The Grand Opening marked the culmination of a significant investment in Philadelphia Ballet’s future and created an opportunity to celebrate everyone who helped bring the Center for Dance to life.
The expanded campus will support the Ballet’s professional artists while creating additional opportunities for students, choreographers, audiences, and emerging arts professionals. It also strengthens Philadelphia Ballet’s presence along North Broad Street and its connection to the surrounding community.
Harlequin Floors is honored to have played a role in this milestone project and was thrilled to celebrate alongside Philadelphia Ballet at the Spotlight Soirée Gala.
We congratulate the entire Philadelphia Ballet community on the opening of its remarkable new Center for Dance and look forward to seeing dancers create, rehearse, perform, and grow in the space for years to come.