Manassas Ballet Theatre eyes a move

Dancer Hannah Bontrager discovered the Manassas Ballet Theatre after moving from Oregon to Northern Virginia with her husband a month ago.

And while the engaging 24-year-old loves working for such a talented, professional group, she admitted she was disappointed with the Mathis Avenue location -- a strip mall next door to Bowl America.

So it was no surprise that Bontrager and her fellow dancers were ecstatic to hear that the company is seeking a new location in Old Town Manassas. Not only would the facility likely be larger and have better amenities, but it could upgrade the arts and entertainment reputation of the city's center.

Moving to Old Town also goes hand in hand with the imminent Arts & Entertainment designation sought by the city from the state.

"All art making is about making something magical happen and a new facility would help us take ourselves more seriously and it would continue to support our professional image," Bontrager said.

Built in 1983, the current 7,500-square-foot facility has been outgrown by the 14-member ballet company and the more than 120 children who take lessons there. The front lobby is constantly cramped with youngsters and their parents, there are no shower facilities and the dressing room for the women is little more than a closet.

Artistic director Amy Wolfe envisions a place where families can drop off their children for lessons and then walk to an area restaurant or retail store to shop. Executive director Mark Wolfe said there are three sites in the area that could potentially serve as the new home of the ballet but chose not to comment on any specifics.

Funded by individual and corporate donations and the city of Manassas, the company would likely need to start a capital campaign in order to pay for the new facility, said Wolfe. The ballet has grown from a $30,000 budget to a half-million, travels with its own orchestra and will be one of the chief entertainers at the new Hylton Performing Arts Center -- scheduled to be finished by the spring of 2010.

Wolfe said that ideally, the company would own its new home. The ballet rents the current space in the Manassas Shopping Center from the Thelma Taylor Breeden Company.

Company member Leanne Mizzoni said she hopes a new facility would also lead to a higher profile for the dancers and better pay down the road. The four-year company veteran and part-time dance instructor said she and the other dancers -- who earn a small salary -- have to stop their rehearsals or practice time when children come for lessons each afternoon because of a lack of space.

Mizzoni then bounces from studio to studio to teach before finally calling it quits at around 9 p.m. each night. Dancer Penelope Lewis goes from Fairfax to Manassas for ballet, then travels to Reston for work, and then returns home to Fairfax in the evenings.

"A lot of people don't know what we do and don't appreciate what we go through," Mizzoni said. "If we were in Old Town, people walking by could see us rehearse, see art in the mak-ing."

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-369-5738.