The Dance, the live music venue opened by Billy Jones (Baby’s All Right, Elvis Guesthouse) last fall, closes tonight after four months and change at 428 Lafayette St.
As Brooklyn Vegan first reported: "With astronomical Manhattan rent and a lack of overnight profits, investors allegedly got cold feet and have pulled the plug."
The Dance released this statement on Instagram:
We were invited into this project by a team that we felt, like us, were dedicated to proving Culture could live and thrive again in Manhattan. It was a long, hard, and complicated development process for everyone involved. When we finally opened to the public in October, we were already facing many significant challenges, both logistical and financial.
In spite of those challenges, we set about in making The Dance something truly special. Over its short lifespan, The Dance felt like an incredible moment of creativity and rejuvenated nightlife in a borough that desperately needed it.
Unfortunately, the ownership group has respectively decided to pull the plug on this dream and go in another direction, thus ending The Dance as it is known today. We’re personally devastated about all of this because we, along with so many artists, promoters, agents, and staff, have put so much time, energy and heart into this labor of love.
We’re very sorry for the inconvenience it caused all the acts and parties that were scheduled and the fans who were excited to come to The Dance especially those that never got a chance. We will do everything we can to make things right...
The venue closes up after tonight's sold-out show by U.S. Girls. Shows scheduled there in the weeks ahead are being moved elsewhere.
The Dance, featuring multiple spaces, including a main stage room that could hold 250 people, officially opened in October in the landmarked Colonnade Row just south of Astor Place.
During its short run, the place hosted an impressive array of shows, including Wavves, Beach Fossils, DIIV, Twin Peaks, Wild Nothing, James Chance and Shannon & the Clams, among many others.
This had been a long time in the making. The Times first mentioned that an "indie music hall and restaurant" was coming to this address in October 2016. No word on the status of the pending restaurant in the space above the Dance.
