BalletX will oversee portable floor rentals

A special portable floor designed for dance performance and offered to area dance companies at minimal cost by the soon-to-shutter Dance USA/Philadelphia service organization has been taken over by BalletX and will remain in use.

The floor, which can be moved from venue to venue, has been used by area companies over the last four years, bringing dance to as many as 25,000 audience members. BalletX, based at the Wilma Theater, has used it on several occasions, including performances in the Gallery and at 30th Street Station.

The company will maintain the floor and continue to rent it out at low cost.

"The portable dance floor is an invaluable asset for the dance community," said Christine Cox, BalletX artistic and executive director. She said the floor is "necessary in exposing Philadelphians to dance both in traditional and nontraditional performance settings."

Designed by the Boston Dance Alliance in partnership with Wooden Kiwi Productions, the floor is made up of 21/2-foot interlocking panels. It is sprung (absorbs shock), waterproof, and can turn anyplace into a dance space in about 30 minutes.

Eight-year-old Dance USA/Philadelphia lost its William Penn Foundation funding at the end of last year and will close next week.

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