Last night, a car drove into the Atlas Performing Arts Center on H Street. The car damaged both the center’s lobby and a studio at the Joy of Motion Dance Center, which is located in the center.
Joy of Motion Dance Center marketing director Maggie Null found out about the accident while scrolling through Twitter around 12:30 AM, she says. She immediately called Joy of Motion’s interim executive director, Krystal Odom, to relay the news.
#BANCARS Now! On H St NE tonight 😠 pic.twitter.com/beYVFJ8wOB
— Mark Sussman | @mark-sussman.bsky.social (@MarkSussman_) December 23, 2020
The car went through one of the windows at Joy of Motion’s Marley Studio, one of three dance studios in the center. It also damaged the center’s facade, Null says, as well as its lobby.
The H Street location is currently Joy of Motion’s only studio. It previously operated spots in Friendship Heights and Bethesda, but had to close them because of “financial concerns and lost revenue due to Covid,” says Null. The group put out a call on Twitter for folks to donate funds to help the dance group and the arts center rebuild the space.
The damage was significant and we are still figuring things out. If you’re able to donate to help us or the Atlas Performing Arts Center rebuild, please do. https://t.co/wlaZpEO2Bg pic.twitter.com/EY2hArJ0Tl
— Joy of Motion Dance Center (@JOMDC) December 23, 2020
This accident isn’t a first-time event: a vehicle also crashed into an H Street building in October, driving through a vacant retail space. Another car had an unsuccessful interview with a building the following month.
Mimi Montgomery joined Washingtonian in 2018. She’s written for The Washington Post, Garden & Gun, Outside Magazine, Washington City Paper, DCist, and PoPVille. Originally from North Carolina, she now lives in Del Ray.
