Sparrow Square
A new space for performance and arts education in Brooklyn.
For the past 15 years, Brooklyn Ballet’s home base has been in The Schermerhorn building, a supportive housing development in Downtown Brooklyn built and managed by Breaking Ground, the social services nonprofit developer, and The Entertainment Community Fund. The building’s ground level space houses Brooklyn Ballet's accessible 2,500 sq ft storefront dance studio and administrative offices, and also includes a small-scale 99-seat black box theater.
Brooklyn Ballet has received an exciting invitation to open a second dance facility, this one in the East Flatbush neighborhood of Brooklyn. This second location of Brooklyn Ballet will serve as the cultural anchor of a large-scale affordable housing facility, named Sparrow Square, under development by Breaking Ground.
WHO WE WILL SERVE
This project will allow us to directly impact the lives of at least 5,000 youth, adult learners, seniors, people with disabilities, professional dancers, general audiences, and beyond. The location of the new dance space in East Flatbush, a distinctly Caribbean neighborhood, has a population of 135,000 that is made up of 88.7% Black, 6.6% Hispanic, and 1.3% White.
PROGRAMMATIC GOALS
This ambitious vision for the future of Brooklyn Ballet includes an expansion of our School, Company, Educational Outreach, and Community Partnerships.
ELEVATE
Sparrow Square will enable Brooklyn Ballet’s dance educational outreach program Elevate to establish new school partnerships, expanding Brooklyn Ballet’s reach to 20 schools and increasing equitable access to dance education for Brooklyn students.
BROOKLYN BALLET SCHOOL AT SPARROW SQUARE
Sparrow Square will allow the Brooklyn Ballet School to enhance its conservatory training program by adding new classes, furthering our mission of providing high-quality arts education. This expansion will also create new scholarship opportunities for individuals of all ages and abilities from across Brooklyn to participate in dance.
BROOKLYN BALLET COMPANY
Sparrow Square will support the Brooklyn Ballet Company’s transition toward becoming a full-time company. It will provide space for emerging local choreographers to develop new works and increase the company’s performance opportunities such as furthering our reach through our Take Ballet to the Streets Initiative with free performances/classes. Also, our black box theater will help us reach a larger audience, offering the community exposure to live dance performance.
COMMUNITY PARTNERSHIPS
Brooklyn Ballet looks forward to collaborating with local organizations in new programming including Elevate+ dance workshops for older adults, inclusive dance classes for people with disabilities, dance workshops and performances at neighboring hospitals, as well dance festivals featuring local artists hosted by Brooklyn Ballet.
Get involved.
Want to be part of Brooklyn Ballet’s next chapter?
Learn more about Sparrow Square and how to get involved by contacting Maura Greaney at