Performing arts center

For venues with this name, seePerforming Arts Center.

NMACC,Sydney Opera HouseandThe Esplanade

Performing arts center/centre(seespelling differences), often abbreviated as PAC, is used to refer to:

• A multi-use performance space that is intended for use by various types of performing arts, including dance, music and theatre.

The intended multiple use of performing arts centers in this sense differentiates them from single-purposeconcert halls,opera housesortheatres,although the actual use of single-purpose spaces for other than their intended use is widespread. This sort of space has a long history, extending to the RomanColosseumand Greek amphitheatres.

• A cluster of performance spaces, either separate buildings or under one roof, each space designed for a specific purpose such assymphonic musicorchamber musicor theatre, but multipurpose as a whole. The modern version of this came into being only in the 1960s.

Examples of this type of PAC are theKennedy Centerin Washington, D.C., theSydney Opera House,and theLincoln Centerin New York City.

Some performing arts center organizations act as sole presenters for events using the venues within the center, but most also frequently rent their performance spaces to otherperforming arts presentersor self-presenting performing arts groups. An example of this practice is theCelebrity Series of Bostonrenting venues in Boston'sBoch Center.

New performing arts centers emerged in the latter part of the 20th century as a means of generating new investment and increased economic activity and thus, a means for revitalizing neighborhoods as patrons are drawn to local restaurants and other businesses. PACs became a draw for touring shows and eventually included visual art in their facilities. Today, these centers are valuable civic resources that provide education, access, exchange of creative discourse, opportunities for cultural expression and awareness.

History

The origin of the world's oldest performing art,Noh,dates back to the 6th and 7th centuries when performing arts came to Japan from mainland China.

Starting in the 6th century BC, the Classical period of performing art began in Greece, ushered in by the tragic poets such asSophocles.These poets wrote plays which, in some cases, incorporated dance (seeEuripides). TheHellenistic periodbegan the widespread use of comedy. Much of which was performed live in a center-point of the community.

In 1576, Britain's first playhouse, 'The Theatre' was built inFinsbury Fields,London. It was constructed byLeicester's Men– an acting company formed in 1559 from members of the Earl of Leicester's household.

Performing arts centers have since flourished and are found in communities large and small around the world.

Specific venues

National Kaohsiung Center for the Arts

When theNational Kaohsiung Center for the Artsopened inTaiwanin October 2018, it became the world's largest performing arts center under one roof. Sprawled across 35 acres within the verdantWeiwuying Metropolitan Park,the facility gives the city ofKaohsiunga dose of culture it yearned for. Designed by Dutch firmMecanoo,the futuristic building and its undulating roof that could easily be compared to a spaceship immediately impresses upon arrival. Stepping into the plaza is like walking into a steel equivalent of a cave, where the wavy ceiling drops to the floor, carving out pathways for pedestrians, and is dotted with cutouts that afford natural sunlight to seep in.

See also

• Auditorium
• List of concert halls
• List of contemporary amphitheatres
• List of opera houses