Prospects Brightening for Dance Facility

“Go check out how long it took to build the Parthenon,” said Barbara Bain, the actress who is president of the board of trustees of the Dance Gallery. “I’m serious.”

The Dance Gallery’s prospects have sounded like a Greek tragedy at times, but at its ninth annual membership luncheon Thursday at the Bel Age Hotel, supporters of the Dance Gallery Guild heard the news they’ve waited nine years to hear: Their 1,000-seat dance performance facility is really going to be built.

When? Well, no one said exactly, but a new location has been found on the California Plaza at 4th and Olive streets, a major triumph in itself. “The amount of paper to write down the issues involved would fill four ballrooms,” Bain said with a sigh. The project was derailed two years ago when supporters failed to come up with the funds to begin construction at another location. Now new funding is being sought through a bond issue, said Arline Chambers, Dance Gallery executive director.

Bunker Hill Associates, developers of California Plaza, announced it was kicking in $1 million.

Mayor Tom Bradley, an early Dance Gallery booster, donned a purple tie for the luncheon, which honored the tall, elegant Judith Jamison, appointed artistic director of the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater last December.

Dressed in a white Donna Karan pantsuit over a leotard, Jamison the complex “looks like it’s really happening. The vibes are fantastic.”

Among those attending were the late Alvin Ailey’s mother, Lula Cooper, and dancer Fayard Nicholas, who appears with his brother Harold in Janet Jackson’s new video, “Rhythm Nation.”