WELCOME TO A PLACE FOR​
movement
About the space
A PLACE TO EXPLORE AND CREATE
The Ellen Webb Studio is a lovely, private space, ideal for the creation and rehearsal of dance and other performing arts. It is well suited for classes which require physical space including dance, yoga, movement, breath work, tai chi and qigong. • The space is 1,500 square feet with no columns. The floor is sprung maple, at 30' x 40'. The ceiling height is 16'. There is heating, track lighting two skylights, a sound system. and wi-fi. • Shoes, musical instruments or props that will damage the floor are not allowed. Food, alcohol or other beverages (except water) are not permitted in the studio. There is an outdoor courtyard where people can take a break, eat and drink. • Ellen Webb Studio is in a quiet neighborhood, in the corner of West Oakland, next to Emeryville and near Home Depot. It is five minutes from the Bay Bridge. ​
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•â€‹ Rental Rate: Rates range from $25-$50/hr. for ongoing rentals depending on the group size and how the space will be used. There is a two-hour minimum rental. • This is a fully code-approved and handicap accessible facility. It serves as a rehearsal studio for many Bay Area dance artists, classes and workshops.
Ellen Webb, founding director of the Ellen Webb Dance Foundation, attended Bennington College and UC Berkeley, then moved to New York to study with Merce Cunningham. She performed with Carolyn Brown / Among Company (1973-1975) and Douglas Dunn and Dancers (1976-1978), among others. During her 14 years in New York, Webb witnessed and participated in one of the most important eras of American dance—an era of intense innovation and rigorous experiment.
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Inspired by such vitality, Webb began choreographing in 1979 and quickly proved herself to be a prolific and challenging choreographer. She has created over 40 works, ranging from brief solos to evening-length pieces to experimental dawn-to-dusk performances, including many collaborative works with her husband, visual artist Sandy Walker. Her work has been presented throughout Europe and America, including such venues as the Kitchen, PS 122, St. Mark’s Danspace, and Movement Research, Inc. in New York City; the Los Angeles Festival; the American Center in Paris; the Dartington International Dance Festival in England; and the Tanz ‘82 Festival in Vienna, Austria, and Zellerbach Hall in Berkeley, California. Webb founded the Ellen Webb Dance Company in 1982. The company performed throughout the Bay Area, in New York and on tour.
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Webb moved to the Bay Area in 1984, where she continued choreographing and performing. In 1986, she founded the Talking Dance Project, an annual symposium series, which she co-directed with dance scholar David Gere. She also undertook the creation of the Ellen Webb Studio in West Oakland, which opened in 1989.​​
Perhaps the most intellectually demanding choreographer now working in the Bay Area, [Webb] makes work which combines visual abstraction with the keen observation of human behavior.
- Elizabeth Zimmer, San Francisco Sentinal