Lee Anne Hartley, 52, left, and Andrea Murray, 15, rehearse for the Funhouse Movement Theater at its practice location in a new 5,000-square-foot warehouse on the South Side.

photos by James Gregg / Arizona Daily Star

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Karen Falkenstrom and Rome Hamner were riding high after their second successful taiko showcase last spring when they first heard the bad news.

Their Japanese drum group, Odaiko Sonora, was losing its home.

Ortspace, the rehearsal and performance center run by O-T-O Dance where Odaiko Sonora had rented, practiced and stored its drumming supplies since 2002, had been issued an eviction notice and was given six weeks to clear out of its longtime facility at 121 E. Seventh St.

The building's owner, Mark Berman, was taking back the structure to accommodate his rapidly expanding plumbing and supply business.

"It was a whirlwind," said Falkenstrom. "We knew things were being discussed, but we thought we had until the end of the calendar year. Everyone was scrambling."

Falkenstrom and Hamner managed to find a temporary home for their 15-plus drums and supplies, but they were fed up with the same old story of local arts organizations losing their spaces to fickle landlords and economic pressures.

They did their research, gathered investors, formed a limited-liability company to take out a low-interest loan and today are the proud owners of a newly built 5,000-square-foot warehouse located at 1013 S. Tyndall Ave. a couple blocks north of East 22nd Street.

The new center, sold to the duo to the tune of $475,000, is equipped with a 1,200-foot Marley dance floor that Falkenstrom installed herself, spacious, 18-foot-high ceilings, a loft area and more than enough storage room to suit Odaiko Sonora's needs.

"I am all about buying buildings," Falkenstrom said. "It's the only way to ensure not getting kicked out. It can be done."

The drum crew opened the structure for business in late 2006 and now holds regular classes and training sessions during the week.

In addition, the organization has followed in Orts' footsteps by taking on other arts programs who are in need of new homes.

That was good news for Lee Anne Hartley, artistic director for the local dance troupe Funhouse Movement Theater.

Like Odaiko Sonora, Funhouse had been an Ortspace tenant for years, and it had a tough time finding a central location to practice in after moving out.

To prepare for Funhouse's annual fall concert, Hartley was forced to divide the company's time between Zuzi's Dance Lab and the Flor de Liz Dance Studio.

Funhouse still rotates between Zuzi and Flor de Liz on Sundays but has made Odaiko Sonora's building its new home and primary practice space. They've been working on their spring show, "In Concert," there — debuting tonight at the PCC Proscenium Theatre — since January.

Hartley loved the idea of arts organizations owning their own spaces so much that she considered investing in the Odaiko Sonora studio herself.

"It is a nice addition," said Hartley. "We really need three or four just like it in the community. There isn't the best infrastructure for the arts here in town. There is always a struggle for venues and places to work. They get lost and found, and you are always at the mercy of the building's owner. It goes on and on. The best defense is to buy it yourself."

Brazilian dance and percussion group Batucaxe moved into the facility late last year.

The group didn't come from Ortspace, but it had a similar story to share.

For four years, Batucaxe members had been getting a free ride from a friend, storing their arsenal of drums for next-to-nothing in his Tucson Tech Park office at South Campbell Avenue and East 22nd Street and practicing in the center's other empty buildings.

Those vacant spaces were eventually rented out and the band found itself without a home for the first time last year.

Batucaxe founder Clifford Berrien can't remember how he heard about Odaiko Sonora's new digs, but he appreciates its efforts.

Berrien said the facility is perfect for the more than 40 members involved and the storage of its equipment.

The part-time DJ says he has even learned a thing or two about the business side of the arts world.

"They are trying not merely to provide a space but to educate artists like myself," Berrien said. "After a few calls with Karen, she already had me in business classes. She impressed upon me that this is what I need to do to meet the demands the world places on people in the arts.

"Artists need an education on how to navigate their way to making things like this happen," Falkenstrom said. "On a policy level, we want to have a vibrant cultural area and not constantly get into these battles, which is really such a waste of energy and time. It would be better to educate everyone involved and have programs where artists can access the kind of financing that would make it possible."

Falkenstrom would like to see more of what Odaiko Sonora has done going on in Tucson. She has already started encouraging other arts organizations to gather their money and invest in a similar warehouse that is going up across the street.

In the meantime, she and Hamner will continue to build a comfortable environment that meets the needs of interested Tucson artists and their own group.

"This is meant to be an arts incubator," Falkenstrom said. "Where artists can come and manufacture art and work on choreographing and creating artwork to present elsewhere."