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Many smaller arts groups
call Le Petit Trianon home |
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| By Jim Aquino |
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As its 80th anniversary approaches, Le Petit
Trianon, 72 N. Fifth St. in downtown San
Jose, continues to serve as a home for
smaller and lesser-known San Jose performing
arts groups, including the South Bay Guitar
Society, the San Jose Flamenco Society, the
Vietnamese Philharmonic Orchestra and the
Mission Chamber Orchestra.
"They're all looking for a home," says Norval
Nelson, executive vice president of
operations and development for the Trianon,
which was originally built as a church in
1923. "There are never enough venues for
them. San Jose only really has six or seven
venues. San Francisco has about 40."
Last year, the Trianon hosted 60 arts groups
that gave more than 100 performances at the
theater, attracting audiences that totaled
some 24,000. Nelson expects that audience to
grow by another 10 to 20 percent this year,
in large part because of the San Jose
Symphony going out of business.
Whenever a big arts group closes down, says
businessman Keith Watt, the Trianon's owner
since 1982, audience size at Le Petite
Trianon increases. "It's sort of like
dominoes," he says. "By the time the city has
managed to wipe out all the performing arts
groups, we think we'll probably be running
full performances here five or six nights a
week."
Nelson says that so far as performing arts
and entertainment venues are concerned, "San
Jose is not a major-league city."
Nelson has been pushing to bring more arts
and culture to San Jose through the Trianon,
which is why he is ecstatic about a San Jose
Chamber of Commerce "Support the Arts"
business mixer the Trianon will host on Sept.
19. At the event, more than 20 local arts
organizations will get the opportunity to
showcase their entertainment.
Watt says Le Petit Trianon has also been
concentrating on being a center for kids'
arts groups, as well as ethnic arts
organizations.
"The charm of California, particularly San
Jose, is the fact that we've got so much
ethnic diversity. So we try to showcase that
with the groups that we have perform here,"
Watt says.
The Trianon is also a conference center and
an office building with suites for
businesses, including Watt's own businesses,
such as the Mother Olson's Inn boardinghouse
company.
What fascinates the Trianon's employees and
clients the most about the building is its
architectural design and history. The
Trianon's architect, William Binder,
originally constructed the Trianon as a
church for the Christian Assembly, a
Christian Scientist group that, at one point,
helped treat Binder, who suffered from
migraines. Binder borrowed the name and
design of his building from a miniature
chateau built in Versailles, France, in the
1760s for King Louis XV's mistress, Madame de
Pompadour.
Eddie Diaz, artistic director of the Flamenco
Society of San Jose, says the Trianon is the
perfect venue for his group, which is why the
Flamenco Society has stayed with the theater
for 10 years.
"It has a great stage. You're always able to
see the dancers' feet from any location in
the theater, which is very important. The
prices for using the venue are very
reasonable in comparison to what other venues
charge," Diaz says.
"At a big venue, there's a long waiting
list," adds Diaz, who explains that at larger
theaters, arts groups often have to wait a
year or sometimes even two years to land a
space. "With Le Petit Trianon, it's more
flexible."
Nelson says that many of the groups enjoy
using the Trianon because of the auditoriums'
acoustics.
"Many arts groups that I've spoken to say
that's it's one of the finest acoustical
venues in the area," Nelson says. "It's just
an excellent facility for an organization
like Steinway Society Bay Area. A pianist can
perform on a Steinway piano in there. You
hear the softest note, and it just rings
through the room."
When Watt bought the Trianon from the
Christian Assembly in 1982, he thought that
the Trianon's two auditoriums would be
perfect venues for San Jose's arts groups.
Watt talked to all the groups in the city,
but not all of the groups were initially
interested. He realized he needed to
refurbish the auditoriums in order to change
their minds.
"If you build it, they will come," Watt says.
"We opened it up for all types of performing
arts groups, and they came."
Le Petit Trianon is located at 72 N. Fifth
St. in downtown San Jose. For more
information, call 408.995.5400 or visit
www.trianontheatre.com.
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