Kaleidoscope
Dance Space
About Our Floor
Beautifully refinished air sprung maple floor.
Natural rubber pads support 2 layers of plywood and the maple flooring.
Beautifully refinished air sprung maple floor.
Good For Your Body
Kaleidoscope Dance has a beautiful air-sprung maple floor that has been restored to its original condition. This type of floor is designed specifically to be easy on the joints by having give under the weight of a dancer. As a result, there is less likelihood of injury or damage to feet, ankles, knees, or hips when dancing for extended periods of time.
Floor Construction
As the diagram in the slideshow shows, the floor is approximately 2 1/2" tall. The bottom layer consists of 3/4" natural rubber pads spaced approximately one foot apart. On top of the rubber pads are two layers of 1/2" plywood with each layer running crosswise to the other. Finally, the top layer is 3/4" tongue and groove maple boards. Each one is individually placed and nailed.
Floor Refinishing
In September 2017 the floor was sanded down to the original wood. This was done in multiple steps and took two long days. Pictures above show the floor at the end of the first day of sanding with the original finish still remaining around the edges of the floor.
After the sanding was complete, the sealant was applied. The floor was so thirsty it required two applications of sealant. This took another two days. Finally on the fifth day the finish was applied. After 48 hours the finish was cured enough to walk on with socking feet. After 72 hours of curing it was strong enough to allow dancing. However, at that point it was still only cured to about 70% of what would be its final strength. To reach its hardest state would take approximately another 3 months.
Our building is 2500 sq ft with ~2300 sq ft covered in wood. We have a movable soundproof divider that can be used to divide the dance floor into two separate spaces, each with its own sound system. When divided, the large dance floor is ~1300 sq ft and the smaller one is ~600 sq ft. For large activities the divider is slid back out of the way and its tracks are removed leaving the entire dance space available. The remaining floor space is used for our kitchen/snack area and our office.
Large Floor with divider partially closed
