Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Building

• Monday - Friday: closed at 10pm
• Saturdays: closed at 6pm
• Sunday: closed

About the Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Building

The Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Building was built in January 1998 and is located just east of the Mandell Weiss Forum. The state-of the-art facility was designed by award winning and internationally recognized architect Antoine Predock. It has three naturally lit and temperature-controlled studios with superior acoustics. Spacious showers and locker rooms provide service to ongoing and overlapping classes.

The three dance studios are arranged along a curving path, defined by a curved wall and anchored to the west by a fourth box, which contains the locker rooms. The complex comprises approximately 14,000 feet. One of the studios, Dance Studio 3, can be transformed into a 120-seat black-box theater and has hosted a number of world renowned artists for intimate engagements with students and the public. 

From Architecture, August 1998: "The Dance Studio serves its purpose well. 'The students just soared when they got in here, claims [Margaret] Marshall [founder of UCSD's dance program]. They use virtually every inch of the building, gathering along the curved wall to stretch and bend, wedging their legs into its slots. They dance in the small courtyard and run up the walls. They respond to the freedom of the loft like spaces, their resilient sprung-rubber floors, flexible lighting grids, and natural ventilation."

Dance Studio 3 - The Black Box 

The Molli and Arthur Wagner Dance Building houses Dance Studio 3, the structure's 120-seat black-box theater. Dance Studio 3 can be used as a rehearsal or performance space.

"It is an intimate space with a large play area and raked audience seating - perfect for dance and embodied performance work. Our students have had the opportunity to experience the work of renowned artists from all over the country including some of our faculty and alumni. It's also a space to take risks, to perform and share their own work," said Ana Maria Alvarez, a member of the UC San Diego dance faculty.
 
The first image below is the exterior of the Dance building as you approach DS3. The second image below is an image of the interior of DS3 in its configuration as a rehearsal space. Note the collapsible bleachers along the far wall.