In downtown Calgary, you might not know about a 40,000-square-foot dance centre, making our city a rather unexpected jazz dance hub. But that’s precisely what you’ll find. In 2016, Decidedly Jazz Danceworks (DJD) raised $28.5 million to build what is now Calgary’s largest recreational dance school focused on jazz music and performance.
This did not happen overnight.
In 1985, DJD had humble beginnings in a single studio before moving to a space across from the now-closed Rose and Crown Pub on 4th Street S.W. in 1993. It was a massive upgrade — that venue sported three studios for rehearsals and dance classes. But, as time marched forward, so did inflation.
“Every five years, the rent would double,” says Kathi Sundstrom, DJD’s executive director. “It was becoming evident that our current operating model was broken. Unless we found a different way to operate, we would cease to exist.”
While DJD was experiencing growth, it reached a point where there were no more revenue options. Dance classes served as the most significant income source, but, with a limited number of studios and hours in the day, DJD had no choice but to think of alternative solutions. The company could only survive a few more years with the ever-increasing rent costs.
A new home
In 2005, DJD began talks with the Kahanoff Foundation, which was planning on building a second tower to the east of the existing Kahanoff Centre. The Kahanoff Foundation wanted the building to be a home for charities and non-profit organizations, and DJD, as a registered charity, could be the anchor.
The collaboration didn’t take off until 2012, after several bumps in the road, including the 2008 financial crisis. To get the project completed, DJD pledged to contribute $17 million to the building cost.
“We ended up raising $28.5 million,” says Sundstrom. “It was a lot of hard work. There were a lot of times when it didn’t seem like it was going to happen.”
But it did. The new Kahanoff II tower and DJD Dance Centre opened their doors in 2016 in the Beltline. DJD celebrated the opening with a show, aptly named New Universe.
Major milestones
DJD celebrated its 40th anniversary last year, while 2026 marks 10 years since the opening of the DJD Dance Centre. The permanent home allows DJD to celebrate its dancers and community even more. The facility features seven dance studios and a 230-seat theatre where DJD stages its performances.
“It is a gift to be able to create work in the same space that it’s going to be performed,” says Kimberley Cooper, DJD’s artistic director, who was a former dancer with the company.
“Dancers are always struggling for places to rehearse, and we wanted to give them a place for dignity and … a place where they were respected and honoured.”
Rather than a significant portion of revenue going to rent, DJD now has the flexibility to direct the money toward its dancers.
“We are providing good lives for dancers,” says Cooper. “[They] can have long careers, and can work for most of the year and have health insurance. That isn’t really that common anymore.”
Along with the rehearsal and performance spaces, the DJD Dance Centre features a 2,500-square-foot community living room, where dancers, whether professional or beginner, can meet each other and mingle.
A key aspect to the welcoming feel that DJD strived for is achieved through the floor-to-ceiling windows at the centre. Dance isn’t reserved for a special few — these windows enable passing drivers and pedestrians the chance to peek through and see dance in action. It’s become part of the daily streetscape.
“We firmly believe that when dance and music are a part of your everyday life, your everyday life is better,” says Cooper.
Jazz is community
The importance of community to DJD has a foundation in the origins of jazz itself.
“Jazz as a form — both dance and music — was born in North America out of the transatlantic slave trade, and it grew as part of the African American and Black American experience,” says Cooper. “Going back to the roots, this form comes from people whose dance and music were a part of their everyday life.”
Whether it’s bringing jazz to the streets through giant windows or working with local musicians to incorporate live music during performances, DJD embraces community.
“We very much built [the dance centre] with the philosophy that we’re building it for the community,” says Sundstrom. “What the facility has done for the dance community and the non-profit community is really astounding.”
Patti Pon, president and CEO for Calgary Arts Development, agrees. “The DJD Dance Centre has put Calgary on the map in the jazz world, as well as being an important hub for the dance community in Calgary, giving DJD a home base and providing a place for artists to develop and share their work with audiences,” she affirms.
Beyond that, the centre demonstrates how purpose-built art spaces are critical to community vitality, not only as incubators and performance spaces for artists, but for the community at large. Having that cultural exposure and access brings so much to the quality of life in Calgary.
“The DJD Dance Centre is a good example of the positive contributions amazing arts spaces make to a city’s vibrancy, economic diversity and identity,” says Pon. “This is something Calgarians can get excited about with the significant amount of investment that’s going into cultural infrastructure in our city right now.”
Combining access through infrastructure with the premise that anyone is welcome to dance helps create a space for belonging. “The African essence of jazz is that everyone does it,” says Sundstrom. “Dance is a way that you celebrate and come together.”
This is also the reason for DJD’s varied programming. The dance centre offers lessons for kids, for adults and for professionals who have been dancing for years. The joy is in the act of dancing and coming together, rather than trying to be perfect.
“Our program for children isn’t about competitions and recitals and high kicks,” says Sundstrom. “It’s about doing it, experiencing it and your own individual creative expression.”
A farewell and a hello
DJD closed out its 2025/2026 season with a double-bill performance titled Matters of Rhythm and Harmony, a celebration of its 10th anniversary in the dance centre. The first act of the show, Carne Vale, is inspired by the history of Carnival, a Caribbean festival celebrating resilience and liberation. Created by longtime DJD dancer Sabrina Naz Comanescu, the piece explores the transition of the spirit to the afterlife — a journey of saying goodbye to living, and hello to whatever comes next.
It’s a poignant celebration of DJD’s past and looks ahead to future opportunities. In the fall of 2026, DJD will say hello to more new opportunities thanks to a generous donation of $2.5 million from the Osten-Victor Fund. To honour that gift, DJD will name its performance theatre the Osten-Victor Stage.
That donation sets the stage not only for more creativity, but also sustainability. “It’s very exciting,” says Sundstrom. “That money will go to create an artistic creation fund for DJD that will help finance all that we do for many years to come.”
111 12 Avenue S.E., decidedlyjazz.com
DJD Fast Facts
DJD doesn’t just teach jazz. Choose from a variety of dance styles including West African, hip hop, tap and ballet.
DJD offers a program for people with Parkinson’s disease, which runs from September through June.
In 2022, Vicki Adams Willis, Michèle Moss and Hannah Stilwell, the founders of DJD, were inducted into the Canadian Dance Hall of Fame.
DJD featured in the 2020 award-winning jazz documentary Uprooted: The Journey of Jazz Dance, directed by Khadifa Wong.