Pure Theatre taking over Charleston Ballet Theatre's King Street site

Pure Theatre is taking the former Charleston Ballet Theatre space on King Street, and the ballet company has moved across the river to Mount Pleasant.

The ballet that got its start in the heart of Charleston completed its move from 477 King St. to new digs last week, expanding their space for the ballet company and classes.

The James Island ballet school studio on Folly Road was closed in May, and while there will still be ballet classes in the downtown area, they will be in a new location that has yet to be announced.

"I'm standing in the middle of our new space with about 500 boxes around me," said Patricia Cantwell, co-founder of Charleston Ballet Theatre. "It had gotten really cramped downtown."

The company moved to The Plaza at East Cooper, 601 U.S. Highway 17, where they will have two studios in 6,000 square feet of rehearsal space. The former Mount Pleasant class studio on Long Point Road also will be closed.

The company plans to eventually move back downtown if it can find adequate space, but with the square foot costs rising, it may take some time to raise money for either a renovation or a new building.

Cantwell said the company has not yet signed the lease on a new location for downtown classes, but it plans to open Sept. 6. They will keep their administrative offices downtown, too.

Sharon Graci, co-founder of Pure Theatre, said Thursday that her company has signed a lease on the building at 477 King St., starting Sept. 1. She said it feels really good to finally have a home.

"We've been homeless for the last three seasons, and we're thrilled." The space works well for Pure because the ballet company has been using it as a performance space for the past 10 years. Pure used the space this past spring for some performances, and knows that they will change it somewhat.

"We will probably reconfigure the space to meet our needs, but we would do that anyway," Graci said. They will maintain the space as a black box theater, which means a nontraditional theater space without a proscenium. That works for the kind of contemporary works the company likes to produce.

"Credit really goes to Prime South (Realty) for wanting to maintain a performance space downtown," Graci said. "We really can't afford to lose any more performance spaces in this town."

For Cantwell, there are some regrets about leaving the downtown area, although the company has relocated a number of times during its 45-year history, first as Charleston Civic Ballet and later as Charleston Ballet Theatre.

"Mayor Joe Riley has been working with us for several years to find a suitable location, but we haven't been able to come up with one," Cantwell said. "It's hard to find a building with 8,000-10,000 square feet and no poles in the middle. That's why I think we will eventually have to build."

The company also announced its 25th anniversary season Friday, with performances scheduled for downtown and North Charleston. The large-scale "Don Quixote" will be first on the schedule Oct. 15 and 16 at the Sottile Theatre at the College of Charleston.

Pure Theatre's season is its ninth and is using the theme "Coming Home" said Graci.

All of the plays this year will center around the themes of hearth, home and family, she said.