English National Ballet chooses Harlequin floors

English National Ballet and the English National Ballet School have moved together to a brand new world-class home at London City Island, Canning Town. Designed by award-winning Glenn Howells Architects working together with fit-out and refurbishment experts BW, the new building provides 93,000 square feet of unprecedented facilities. The enormous project for Harlequin Floors involved the completion of eight rehearsal studios with Harlequin Activity sprung flooring installed with Harlequin Cascade vinyl performance surfaces. The state-of-the-art purpose-built centre combines top training, fitness, rehab and teaching facilities, seven stage-sized rehearsal studios and a unique theatre size production studio with five-storey fly tower unrivalled in the UK. Dedicated Engagement spaces offer the public audience access and enable work with the local community. The English National Ballet School occupies the top floors with exceptional provision for students including three rehearsal studios, a lecture theatre, gym and green room. Windows from the school overlook the Company’s rehearsal studios offering students a daily insight into class, rehearsal and the creation of new work.

Harlequin’s expert technical team installed over 1900m² of Harlequin Activity sprung floor and Harlequin Cascade vinyl surface and a further 200m² of Harlequin Standfast vinyl performance surface. Another 225m² of Harlequin Liberty sprung floor panels were supplied for the Company to take on tour.

Melissa Chapman, Group Marketing Manager at Harlequin Floors said: “We are delighted to have been chosen by the English National Ballet to supply and install our world-class performance floors in their new home. For over 40 years Harlequin has worked closely with the dance community and experts in biomechanics to develop a range of sprung and vinyl performance floors designed to meet the unique needs of dancers.   Our range of performance flooring helps to provide an optimal environment for dancers to perform, safe in the knowledge that the floor they are using for so many hours a day is the result of extensive research into reducing dancer injury.   Harlequin Activity is the preferred sprung dance floor for some of the world’s most prestigious dance and performing arts schools, and is the ideal choice for the English National Ballet’s new home.”