(Sara Bauknecht, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette) At an intimate reception tonight in the lobby of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater in East Liberty, leaders of the theater and of Dance Alloy Theater announced the two arts organizations will merge, the product of months of planning and discussion first made public in May.

“Ultimately, this is a really good fit for both organizations,” said Francisco Escalante, chair of the board of directors of the Kelly-Strayhorn Theater. “Our missions are similar, the goals that we have as organizations were similar. When we really looked at this in detail, we really felt this was a win-win for both organizations and for the arts in general in Pittsburgh.”

Under the new business model, the Kelly-Strayhorn will handle the daily operations of Dance Alloy in Friendship and manage the Dance Alloy school, which has more than 70 students registered this fall. Dancers with the 36-year-old modern dance troupe, which suspended its fall mainstage season due to the pending merger, have been invited to teach classes at the school and explore performance and choreographic opportunities as part of the Kelly-Strayhorn’s programming and series. But the dance company remains on hiatus.