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Atlas Partners Develop Presence in Northeast When David Simmons joined the Congressional Chorus as music director in 2006, the Chorus was in the process of searching for new rehearsal, performance, and office spaces. This brought Atlas to Simmons' mind; the Chorus now regularly holds rehearsals in the building's loft space. At the suggestion of Scott Kenison, Atlas' director of partner and patron services, the Chorus gave its first performance at the Atlas along with another Arts Partner organization, the Capital City Symphony. "Any time our partner organizations can share resources, it makes an impact," said Kenison. "Introducing the organizations' subscriber bases to each other is a win-win situation as well." The Chorus hopes to have office space within the Atlas by Fall of 2007. "One of the reasons we want to be in this area is that it enables us to stay on Capitol Hill, and gives us a presence in Northeast, putting us in the heart of the community," said Simmons, "which is important to us, as a big part of our mission is community outreach." Step Afrika is maintaining its administrative office space at Flashpoint, but plans to host the Home Performance Series, their annual home season event, at the Atlas. "Atlas is giving us a chance to introduce Step Afrika's programming to a new neighborhood," said founder and executive director Brian Williams. "Atlas is a special place because of its capacity to offer everything in one shot; a production room to make costumes and design sets, access to rehearsal rooms, and a full-time box office and technical team make it an easy place to work. We've already established relationships that we know will be the launch of a great partnership between Atlas and Step Afrika." Another Atlas resident Arts Partner that recently graduated from Flashpoint is the Washington Savoyards. The Savoyards moved its offices into the building at the beginning of 2007, and is pleased to have so many resources under one roof, including shop space to build sets. The Savoyards have already found creative ways to partner with Atlas' other residents; Vicki Gaul, director of the Capitol City Symphony, played piano at their recent auditions, and Doug Yeuell, executive director of Joy of Motion, is choreographing the Savoyards' production of Kiss Me Kate. "We performed The Condensed Mikado at the Atlas last season," said executive director Kathleen Mitchell, "and we noticed that we drew a much younger audience than we did at the Duke Ellington School in Georgetown. I think we'll be able to change our audience demographic significantly due to the location of the Atlas." Joy of Motion was the first Arts Partner to take up residence in the Atlas building, having moved in to manage the facility's three dance studios in March 2005. Like most of Atlas' partner organizations, JOM did not have a presence in the District's Northeast quadrant before. "I think we've had a positive effect on this neighborhood," said studio manager Bill Parker. "Since opening two years ago, we've tripled our student enrollment, both youth and adults. Currently we're serving about 550 students per week. Coming in to a community that was very underserved by dance organizations was a big milestone for us." Many of the residents of the neighborhood, including teachers and school children, have never attended dance classes before. "That's what we're in the business of - bringing dance to everyone." "Our building is specifically designed to emphasize the idea of collaboration and community," said Atlas Performing Arts Center executive director Patrick Stewart. "There are seven separate dressing rooms but only one large Green Room. The idea is that performers from various groups can mingle before, during and after their shows. Actors can meet musicians, dancers can meet singers, all under one roof. Organizations are able to expand because of the resources that are available to them here."
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