Women dancers sailed through the air buttressed by their partners in "Escapades," one of three dances performed at the Joan Weill Center for Dance on Dec. 12 for an event hosted by Cornell Entrepreneur Network (CEN) and the College of Architecture, Art And Planning.

The dancers moved through a freeform love story that drew upon ballet, modern and jazz -- a style that is vintage Alvin Ailey. Their lithe, powerful bodies soared across the stage as New York City provided the set and backlighting through the studio's glass walls.

The dance was part of "Building Ailey," a behind-the-scenes look at the new Alvin Ailey facility designed by architects Natan Bibliowicz '81 and Carolyn Iu '75, who treated nearly 100 Cornell-affiliated guests to backstage tours of the Joan Weill Center for Dance, the new home of the Alvin Ailey Dance Foundation and Ailey Studios. The new eight-floor facility, at 405 W. 55th St. at 9th Avenue, is the site of the former WNET TV studios, where the Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater company made its first television appearance in 1961.

The center is named for the wife of Sanford "Sandy" I. Weill '55, chairman of the Weill Cornell Medical College's Board of Overseers, the retired chair and CEO of Citigroup, a renowned philanthropist and a major Cornell benefactor. The medical school was named in honor of the Weills in 1998.

After the tour and a presentation by Bibliowicz and Iu discussing their concept, design and development of the facility -- which includes glass exterior walls and 12 studios, all with viewing windows -- the evening's program closed with performances by Ailey II, the touring and community-outreach arm of the dance company. Its Cornell connection is evident in one of its newest pieces (not included at this performance), "How Small a Thought," with music by composer Steve Reich '57.

"There is no greater representation of entrepreneurship than architecture," noted Justine Schaffner, director of CEN. "In both processes you must start with nothing and create a reality."

Brenda Tobias '97 is director of Cornell-New York City relations. The CU in the City column appears monthly. To suggest an item for coverage, e-mail Tobias at NYC@cornell.edu.