Performing arts center
Encyclopedia
Performing arts center, often abbreviated PAC, is used to refer to
Some performing arts center organizations act as sole presenter for events using the venues within the center, but most also frequently rent their performance spaces to other performing arts presenters
or self-presenting performing arts groups. Examples of this practice are the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
in Washington, D.C.
renting venues in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts or the Celebrity Series of Boston
renting venues in Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center
.
- A multi-use performance space that is intended for use by various types of the performing artsPerforming artsThe performing arts are those forms art which differ from the plastic arts insofar as the former uses the artist's own body, face, and presence as a medium, and the latter uses materials such as clay, metal or paint which can be molded or transformed to create some physical art object...
, including danceDanceDance is an art form that generally refers to movement of the body, usually rhythmic and to music, used as a form of expression, social interaction or presented in a spiritual or performance setting....
, musicMusicMusic is an art form whose medium is sound and silence. Its common elements are pitch , rhythm , dynamics, and the sonic qualities of timbre and texture...
and theatreTheatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
.
- The intended multiple use of performing arts centers in this sense differentiates them from single-purpose concert halls, opera houseOpera houseAn opera house is a theatre building used for opera performances that consists of a stage, an orchestra pit, audience seating, and backstage facilities for costumes and set building...
s or theatresTheater (structure)A theater or theatre is a structure where theatrical works or plays are performed or other performances such as musical concerts may be produced. While a theater is not required for performance , a theater serves to define the performance and audience spaces...
, although the actual use of single-purpose spaces for other than their intended use is of course widespread.
- A cluster of performance spaces, usually but not always under one roof, each possibly designed for a specific purpose such as symphonic musicOrchestraAn orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
or chamber musicChamber musicChamber music is a form of classical music, written for a small group of instruments which traditionally could be accommodated in a palace chamber. Most broadly, it includes any art music that is performed by a small number of performers with one performer to a part...
or theatreTheatreTheatre is a collaborative form of fine art that uses live performers to present the experience of a real or imagined event before a live audience in a specific place. The performers may communicate this experience to the audience through combinations of gesture, speech, song, music or dance...
, but multi-purpose as a whole.
- An example of this type of PAC is the Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsJohn F. Kennedy Center for the Performing ArtsThe John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
in Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C.Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
which contains four distinctive performance spaces.
Some performing arts center organizations act as sole presenter for events using the venues within the center, but most also frequently rent their performance spaces to other performing arts presenters
Performing arts presenters
According to the Urban Institute, "A performing arts presenting organization is an organization, or department or program of a larger organization, that works to facilitate exchanges between artists and audiences through creative, educational, and performance opportunities...
or self-presenting performing arts groups. Examples of this practice are the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is a performing arts center located on the Potomac River, adjacent to the Watergate complex in Washington, D.C...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
renting venues in the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts or the Celebrity Series of Boston
Celebrity Series of Boston
The Celebrity Series of Boston is a non-profit performing arts presenter established in Boston, Massachusetts by Boston impresario Aaron Richmond in 1938 as Aaron Richmond's Celebrity Series....
renting venues in Boston's Citi Performing Arts Center
Citi Performing Arts Center
The Citi Performing Arts Center is located in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. It consists of two theatres, Wang Theatre and Shubert Theatre, both of which are neighbors, on Tremont Street, in Boston's Theatre District...
.