BBT at the JMCA

By Susan Weber, Director of BBT’s Dance for PD® program

From the late 1970s to 2017, Berkeley Ballet Theater’s home was in the complex at 2640 College Avenue in Berkeley’s Elmwood District. Renowned architect Julia Morgan designed the buildings in 1908 as the St. John’s Presbyterian Church and adjacent Sunday School. Working with a budget of two dollars per square foot, she used natural redwood paneling, affordable and abundant at the time, for the interior and exterior of the building. Inside she left exposed wooden beams, supports, nuts, and bolts as part of her design. The results were inexpensive and functional but very beautiful buildings. The sanctuary, which now houses the theatre, opened in 1910.

Gorgeous proportions, artful architecture, the look, feel, and smell of redwood…studying ballet inside a work of art was an inspiration!