From Thursday, Oct. 16, through Sunday, Oct. 19, the Hopkins Center for the Arts in Hanover – known affectionately and with distinction nationwide as “the Hop”- will host a star-studded grand opening of its newly completed $123.8 million expansion and reinvention, offering live music and dance, master classes, and multiple performances in its sumptuous new spaces.
The arrival of the newly reimagined Hop on the region’s cultural stage is a poignant and powerful rejoinder to the dark turn the country has taken in terms of the import and impact of the arts on the worldview of its diverse citizenry.
“This space is more necessary than ever,” Hopkins Center executive director Mary Lou Aleskie said last Thursday as she led a small group of visitors on a tour of the extensive new wing and the revitalized old facilities at the historic Hop in the center of downtown Hanover. “We’ve had many challenges along the way that could have disrupted it, but you know, there’s always hope. No matter what, the arts are the place where you find hope always. I think this building is emblematic of that. It is also emblematic of the resilience and the determination of the people who love this place. It’s not just Dartmouth, it’s the community too,” Aleskie continued.
Construction of the new Hop, boldly reenvisioned by the internationally acclaimed design firm Snohetta, began in the winter of 2022 and is wrapping up this week with the final touches being applied to the 15,000 square-foot expansion dubbed the Daryl and Steven Roth Wing and the transformation of an additional 55,000 square feet of existing space in the monumental Upper Valley arts center that first opened its doors in 1962.
The new Daryl Roth Studio Theater is at the heart of the extended arts complex at the Hop. Arts center communications staff members describe it as “a versatile space for experimentation and new modes of performance and audience interaction” in a primer about the new wing. The seating capacity of the Roth Studio Theater tops out at about 275, depending upon how the space is configured for any given performance, be it music, theater, or dance, Aleskie noted.
The Jack and Mac Morris Recital Hall is another stunning space in the new Hop wing, both visually and sonically. An intimate space with unmatched acoustics and a sculpted wood and glass design, it is ideally suited for musical performances for both academic and community audiences.
The first-ever dance studio in the Hop – the Hodgson Family Dance Studio in the new Roth Wing – is already meeting the needs of Dartmouth students and faculty members and will also be a significant enhancement for visiting dance artists and for performance-related master classes open to the community.
A new outdoor gathering and performance space – the Hop Plaza & Forum – is located just outside and below the Morris Recital Hall.
Apart from the expansive and well-thought-out new wing, revitalized spaces in the original Hop building are also a central part of the nearly $124 million renovation and expansion project, the vast majority of which was financed by private philanthropy.
For more on this, please see our October 9 edition of the Vermont Standard.
