The Dancer

The Dancer. . , Dedicated to the Ralph C. Wilson J Foundation, The Dancer stands in recognition of the generous support for much-needed repairs to the Anna Scripps Whitcomb Conservatory. The Albert Kahn designed conservatory is one of Belle Isle Park's most recognizable cultural treasures. When a structural assessment revealed that all twenty of the original 1902 vertical steel trusses needed immediate replacement the Ralph C. Wilson Foundation stepped in, gifting the necessary funds to the people of Detroit. The Ralph C. Wison, Jr. Foundation's donation will ensure that familles and friends may enjoy the exotic botanical collection of this historic landmark for many more generations to come., Erk and Israel Nordin, co-owners of the Detroit Design Center and Detroit artists, created The Dancer sculpture in 2019 from an original truss section of the Palm House Dome. The Nordins felt that using a historic artifact from the original framework would be the purest way of displaying the simple beauty and architectural genius of its creator, Albert Kahn. This sculpture positions a section of the truss's base upside down on a bent angle where its base was torched and removed from its larger structure. The heavy component, that was the backbone of the glass dome, appears to float on its pedestal-a position inspired by a ballerina's pirouette...a dance with the mind of Albert Kahn., The sculpture is a gift from the Nordin Brothers that symbolizes the genius of Albert Kahn and helps tell a story about the magnitude of the restoration effort. Most importantly it pays tribute to the amazing support given to the Conservatory, the community and Belle Isle Park by the Ralph C. Wison, Jr. Foundation.