WARSAW — The transition has been underway for several years, but on Thursday, Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts celebrated a major upgrade to what was once known as the 2517 event center, located adjacent to the theater.

The installation of a new dance floor at what is now known as the Wagon Wheel Conservatory was made possible with a grant from the K21 Health Foundation. 

On Thursday, 17 students showcased their dance skills on a new dance floor that occupies much of the building's floor space and is identical in size to the Wagon Wheel stage.

“The floor that we put in is from Harlequin Flooring. It's a world-renowned dance floor company –  the same dance floor that's used on Broadway as well as the American Ballet Theater –  it's a huge upgrade, said Wagon Wheel Center for the Arts Outreach and Education Director, Kira Lace Hawkins

“It's a huge upgrade. A wonderful space for instruction for the kids, and our professionals can also use it during the summer season when we need more rehearsal space,” Lace Hawkins said.

She said different groups will be using the refurbished facility.

“There will be dance classes, acting classes. We have hopes and dreams in the future of using it even as a black box theater space for smaller performances that might happen in that space. 

Wagon Wheel has also introduced a new training program.

“We also just started a pre-professional training program called Broadway 360 that meets weekly on Sundays, and it's an audition group for kids who are very serious about musical theater and interested in going into it for a career.” 

The theater also completed a recent fundraising effort ahead of the summer season, which kicks off June 4th with Cats.

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