September 20, 2011
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
The art of spontaneous, creative collaboration has a new home. Washington Improv Theater’s classes program, currently reaching over 1,000 students per year, is relocating to CentroNía, at 1420 Columbia Rd., NW in Columbia Heights.
WIT classes, and rehearsals for WIT’s performing ensembles, will relocate to CentroNia on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2011.
CentroNía is a nationally recognized, multicultural learning community with a pioneering approach to bilingual education. At its Columbia Rd. facility, the organization operates DCBilingual Public Charter School (grades pre-K through 5) and provides afterschool programming for tweens, teens, and adults. Working in the Columbia Heights community for 25 years, CentroNía has always been open to partnerships. Collaborators have included Corcoran School of Art and Design, Levine School of Music, and Young Playwright’s Theater.
A multi-faceted partnership
The space-sharing arrangement stands to benefit both organizations. “We are very excited about this new partnership. It’s an opportunity to introduce to our staff and those we serve a form of theater and performing unknown to many of us, to support an established and artistic organization, to maximize the use of our facility, and to introduce ourselves to a segment of the DC community that might not be familiar with CentroNía” expressed Myrna Peralta, President and CEO of CentroNía.
Renting shared space will keep WIT's costs down. Meanwhile, the rental income will provide additional funding for CentroNía's community outreach. Happily, it's a case of two non-profits managing their resources efficiently for the maximum benefit possible. WIT will also seek to support CentroNía's mission through providing improv training with students and faculty. “Improv is great at building confidence and team-building for young people, and we’ve never had a teacher take a WIT class who didn’t find lots of useful ideas to apply in their teaching,” says Mark Chalfant, WIT's artistic and executive director.
New frontiers
The move represents WIT’s first outing in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, where we're excited to reach a great mix of new people. Charting out coprogramming with CentroNía will mean exploring and expanding WITs Spanish-language capabilities, which is another exciting challenge WIT embraces.
New access, transportation
The new site at 1420 Columbia Rd. is easy to get to. It's just one block from the Columbia Heights Metro, convenient to bus lines 52, 53, 54, H1, H2, H3, H4. Plus there's a Circulator stop across the street (northbound Woodley Park - Adams Morgan - McPherson Square line). Parking, alas, is a challenge in Columbia Heights, as it is everywhere in the city. If no street parking can be found, there are two nearby pay lots: one at DCUSA Center and the other at the 24-hour Giant.
New amenities, hang-outs
A new neighborhood brings new amenities. There's an IHOP just a block away, plus a Chipotle, Potbelly, Five Guys and Pete's A-Pizza, to name a few. There's also a 7-11 just across the street from the new site.
WIT classes:
Now with pancakes and/or donuts!
.
