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The CBY Academy of Performing Arts is located at 21 Mill St N, Waterdown, in the very heart of the town. We proudly operate out of the old Wesleyan Methodist Church, a building of Georgian design, constructed of timber in 1838 and then rebuilt in 1865 of pointed rubble stone. The building has remained largely unchanged ever since, eventually becoming a commercial space after 1957.
We took over lower level in April of 2022, renovating it into a modern, purpose-based music studio. Then, in August 2023, we added the building’s spectacular sanctuary to our footprint, transforming it into a student theatre while preserving its unique heritage. As we were now able to offer a full performing arts experience under one roof, from education to performances, it was at this time that we formally became an academy for the performing arts.
We have two entrances at the CBY Academy. To access our lower level music studio, where the majority of our private lessons take place, you will enter the building via our south side entrance, located at the rear of the south side parking lot.
Upon entering via the south side entrance, you will find yourself in our main lobby. Simply come down the stairs and take a seat! Our reception doors at the foot of the stairs are always locked from the outside, so a CBY teacher will greet you at these doors just before your lesson begins.
Once you have been granted access to our reception, you will be greeted by our famous neon sign (a favourite photo spot for our students!) and our signature blue walls. Parents are welcome to wait in reception if they wish. We also have an assortment of music and theatre themed books for waiting students.
The most active room at the academy! Studio A is our instrument room, affectionately nicknamed “the loud room”, on account of its backline.
Private singing, piano, guitar and drum lessons all take place in Studio A. The room was constructed from scratch with triple layered, acoustically treated walls. This keeps the rock n roll firmly in the room!
Studio A also doubles up as the live room for our recording studio, aka Studio C, and is a great spot for recording vocals, drums and smaller ensembles.
The largest room in our lower level, Studio B is an open plan room with multi-functionality. With lively acoustics and plenty of space, singing lessons are by far the most studied discipline in Studio B. Some of our smaller groups classes also take place here, including our Baby Ballet, Music Theory and student choir groups.
Studio B also houses our green wall, a large 23 foot wide x 7 foot high wall, painting in specialist chroma green. This permanent fixture has been a boon to our Movie Makers film acting program, where students produce a short film each year. The green wall is also used for virtual exams, filmed auditions and photoshoots.
Much like Studio A, Studio B connects into our recording studio to provide a larger, more active live room for recording large ensembles from rock bands to small orchestras.
Many would call this “the coolest room at the academy”, mostly for its cosy mood lighting and pro-grade equipment!
Studio C houses our recording studio, a small project studio that packs a huge production punch. Students who study our artist development and voice over acting program will spend a lot of time in here, writing songs, recording vocals and producing their own, original work. Artist development students release their original music via our in-house record label, Smokey Hollow Records.
Studio C is the main control room for Studio A and Studio B, providing maximum flexibility when recording a multitude of different projects. Together, these three studios form the recording studio side of our operation, Smokey Hollow Studios, Waterdown’s professional grade recording studio, open for any manner of recording project.
The Sanctuary is the original building from 1838 that served as an active Methodist church for over a century. Boasting over 2000 square feet, the Sanctuary is home to the majority of our group programs, including Acting for the Stage, Rising Stars and our flagship musical theatre program, The CBY Showstoppers.
The construction of our stage was completed in the Fall of 2023 and provided us with our very own performance space. Since then, we have staged 3 musicals, 13 concerts and housed our annual performing arts summer camp, Camp CBY, within these historic walls.
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We are honoured to perform on the traditional territory of the Haudenosaunee, Anishinabewaki, Neutral and Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation Peoples. Beneath our feet and all around us are the spirits of those who have come before, who have stewarded this land and have felt the intense burden of a colonial presence. We honour their artistic traditions as we present to you our own today.
Copyright © 2017-2024 The CBY Academy of Performing Arts Ltd. All Rights Reserved. Registered corporation number 1000217637.