It was a long road to get there, but Russ and Sandy Rosen have realized their dream of opening a dedicated arts space in Langley.
Bez Arts Hub — 102 20230 64 Ave. — is curating quality music concerts, dance productions, film nights, community dances and more.
The Rosens’ goal is to provide a venue for original, local artists as well as bringing in tried and true touring acts.
With dance classes classes through the week, the space is set aside for art and community events on the weekends and the Rosens hope that one of Canada’s fastest growing communities will take them up on their offer to come and experience concerts, shows and interactive gatherings of all kinds.
“What we’re trying to do is curate as many events as we can, here, so that every weekend there’s something special that the community will be able to engage with at different levels,” Russ said.
With a current capacity of 59 people, events at the 2,000 square foot Bez Arts Hub are geared towards a great listening and viewing experience in a small intimate theatre. Upcoming shows include The Small Glories and The Smith Fraser Duo, with many other entertainers being scheduled.
Bez founders Russ and Sandy Rosen have lived in Langley for 23 years.
Sandy has run Dance Barn Studio for the past 16 years, while Russ is a singer-songwriter.
Dance Barn Studio was originally located in a barn on a property in Fort Langley and in 2010 moved to an industrial area on 86 Avenue in Walnut Grove.
“In January (2017) we had to move out of that space and I was looking for a new space that we would be able to move to,” Sandy said. “Having moved already a couple of times, I felt like I didn’t want just a dance studio anymore. I wanted something that could open what we do to more areas of the arts.”
Together, Sandy and Russ have dreamed of this live performing space for decades and now, after a series of interesting challenges they find themselves delighted with the new reality.
“What we’ve hoped for is that there would be a place where the community can celebrate the arts,” Russ said. “The events we’ve done so far is square dance, that was the first thing we did, we had a First Nations storyteller/singer/songwriter , an award-winning gal named Cheryl Bear, here. It was a powerful night.”
The couple say Bez Arts Hub fills a void for a multi-purpose arts studio in Langley.
“There are none,” Sandy said.
“Is there something that we’ve missed? There aren’t any,” Russ added.
Musical couple
The Rosens have been married for going on 33 years and once toured Canada, playing gospel music.
“We lived on the road with a mobile theatre,” Russ said. “I think we had a sense for this for a long time.”
“It was four semi-trailers that we took town to town,” Sandy chimed in. “We folded out bleachers out of three, and a stage out of the other, and we went from town to town, and did music and dance and storytelling. I was raising three small kids on the road so I don’t miss it.”
Creative BC grant
The Rosens recently received a live performance grant from Creative BC, and the funds will be used to increase the studio’s capacity to roughly 100 people, and outfit it with a sound system and better lighting.
“We were applying for grants in the live performance side of things,” Russ said. “This is the venue hosting live music performance; we got a grant to help us outfit the facility.”
For bookings or more information, call 604-881-2426 or email hello@bezartshub.com. Visit the studio’s website at www.bezartshub.com.