Reverie Ballroom’s new leader is a familiar face with a Century’s worth of dance experience on Capitol Hill

(Image: Reverie Ballroom)

There is a familiar face — and a familiar pair of feet — leading the dance at Capitol Hill’s Reverie Ballroom.

Hallie Kuperman has stepped in as interim CEO to lead the dance and events business that now fills the longtime Century Ballroom space above E Pine in the historic Odd Fellows Building.

Eliza Wilder, who led the effort to shape Reverie and take over the ballroom as Kuperman  and Alison Cockrill prepared to bring 28 years of swing dance, waltz, salsa and more at Century to a close and hand over the space to a new organization last year, has announced she is stepping down as executive director to move to the Bay Area to help care for her father.

“Change can be hard, but my love of these two ballrooms, and the people who bring them to life, made it an easy decision to say yes when asked to step back in during this transitional period,” Kuperman said in a post on social media about stepping in to help lead Reverie. “I look forward to working with all the staff to usher Reverie into year two.”

It was a year ago this week that CHS stopped by as Kuperman deejayed the final swing dance night at Century before the change to the new project from Wilder.

Wilder and Reverie set about an ambitious overhaul of the 117-year-old building’s overhaul and an equally ambitious update of the business with added focus on hosting events and activities beyond dance. The venue’s sibling bar and restaurant also got an update as The Tin Table became The Art Table.

Now Kuperman is leading a new kind of business while hoping to continue the ballroom’s place for community and dance.

“Reverie Ballroom is not Century Ballroom, and it should not try to be,” Kuperman says. “While there will be things to learn and change; from the moment I decided to let Century go, my only hope was that it remain a place for community, dance, events, music and art.”

The Reverie Ballroom can be found above 915 E Pine. Learn more at reverieballroom.com.

$5 A MONTH TO HELP KEEP CHS PAYWALL-FREE

Subscribe to CHS to help us hire writers and photographers to cover the neighborhood. CHS is a pay what you can community news site with no required sign-in or paywall. To stay that way, we need you. Become a subscriber to help us cover the neighborhood for $5 a month — or choose your level of support