| The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts | |
| Address: | 501 West Main Street |
| City: | Louisville, Kentucky |
| Country: | United States |
| Coordinates: | 38.2573°N -85.7588°W |
| Architect: | Caudill Rowlett Scott |
| Capacity: | Robert S. Whitney Hall: 2,406 Moritz von Bomhard Theatre: 619 Boyd Martin Theatre: 139 |
| Type: | performing arts center |
| Opened: | November 19, 1983 |
| Tenants: | Broadway Across America, Kentucky Opera, Louisville Ballet, Louisville Orchestra, Stage One |
The Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in Louisville, Kentucky, which opened in 1983, is owned by Kentucky Performing Arts and has tenants that include Kentucky Opera, Louisville Ballet, the Louisville Orchestra, StageOne Family Theatre and Broadway Across America. Sculptural artwork at the site is by Alexander Calder, Joan Miró, John Chamberlain, Jean Dubuffet and others.[1]
The center was dedicated on November 19, 1983. Attendees included Charlton Heston, Diane Sawyer and Lily Tomlin.[2] In 1984 the center hosted one of the U.S. presidential election debates between Ronald Reagan and Walter Mondale.[3]
The Kentucky Center has three performance spaces:
The Kentucky Center is one of three venues owned by Kentucky Performing Arts:
Its stages are only a part of what the Kentucky Performing Arts does throughout Kentucky. For example, the center has an education department, with programs for children and adults that travel into all corners of Kentucky. Programs include:
Over 200 of Kentucky's most promising young artists come together for three weeks of interaction, training, and artistic exploration each summer.
Kentucky Performing Arts also administers programs that assist and teach teachers in bringing the arts into the classroom, such as:
Kentucky Performing Arts also provides access services that make the theater experience possible for patrons with disabilities. Kentucky Performing Arts also provides consultancy services to many of the performing arts centers across Kentucky, including: