PMT House of Dance - PHASE 2!

PHASE ONE is COMPLETE! Thank you for your support! Now, onto Phase 2 - studio A. This is studio that hosts our shows, shoots and iconic House Heads Session.

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Originally, we had planned to go into this year worry free, prioritizing the things we are passionate about - creating, dancing and sharing with our community. However, the reality of being an arts facility in NYC has created new challenges. This fundraiser will now serve a greater purpose - to conserve the space our artists, and community, rely on.

As you may be aware, we are facing pushback from one of our neighbors. They are alleging noise from our space is disturbing their business. We have uploaded a video of our sound tests which record what they are hearing.

If you see that video, you are understanding what we are dealing with. Any noise that is being heard is not audible or is barely audible in the video. We have several videos like this. This sort of complaint is atypical.

However, general clauses in leases are being enforced to require us to take action. Simply put, from a legal perspective, the building is obligated to enforce this in order to avoid liability and legal entanglements from those that do not welcome our presence in the building. That is because of the 'quiet enjoyment' clause in leases which require a tenant (in this case, us) to take all efforts to make sure there is NO noise coming from a space. If we do not, we risk further legal entanglements and repercussions that would interrupt or impede our ability to operate. Even if we win, it would be a very ugly and costly process.

Spaces not welcoming arts and culture - especially those that utilize the music and aesthetics of black and brown cultures - is nothing new in NYC. There have been many studios, including recently, that have closed or been displaced due to this. It is what makes finding a space - and keeping it open - so difficult in NYC. It is also what makes it such an accomplishment - especially when you do it for 23 years in the way we have.

Because it is so challenging to obtain a safe space for our community, it is paramount that we take all steps to address issues over the next several weeks to maintain the wonderful thing we have built here. As you know, if PMT is known for one thing, it is for never, ever backing down - especially when our community is involved. PMT has become an absolute leader in the field. Nothing will stop that because we have a community with deep roots.

While there are legitimate questions on an ethical level about the motivations of the actions that are being taken against us (after a long period of no issues), from a legal perspective, we must see this process through with the goal of a quick resolution - for everyone's sake. As we go through this process, we will shine light on the reality of the situation, remove liability for ourselves and ensure that we can operate in peace - without interruption to our livelihoods.

Thus, we will be undergoing renovations to meet the highest possible standard to improve your experience while also satisfying our obligations under institutional law and lease. These renovations include sound paneling which will improve the acoustic quality in rooms while insulating sound from traveling elsewhere in the building. Once we do this, there will be no opportunity for a third party to disrupt or try to take away what we have worked so hard to build.

The costs for this are high - estimated to be around $35K or so. This is why are asking for your generosity and support to help reach our goal for phase 1 of this fundraising endeavor. These renovations are crucial to our ability to continue to operate and to shield us from those few who do not want dance or dance makers in this building.

The sacrifices start from the top. Our Director and Associate Director (Pavan and Mica) had a salary that was already among the lowest in the company (and lower than the US median salary) despite being the highest revenue earners of the company. That salary will be cut by 25% while they take on additional gigs to contribute to this goal. This community is family. It is important that our artists endeavors are not affected by this current situation.

Lastly, this building gave us this space after 2 years being rejected by other buildings because of our roots in Hip Hop and related forms. We owe it to this space to see our commitment through. Keeping this space open for dance - both for us and future organizations - is crucial to our industry.

We are truly proud of what has been built here. We are excited for the space improvements to come. Thank you for your support - and for making PMT one of NYC's best dance institutions 23 years strong!