Reaching Out
President Obama is calling on all Americans to participate in our nation’s renewal by serving in our communities. Young and old alike, from every background, all across the United States, citizens are being asked to find ways to serve. For those of us who have lived our lives in the arts, this call is a familiar one. It would be hard to think of a non-profit arts organization that did not consider community service and educational outreach to be part of its mission.
Certainly this is true for dance organizations. Dancers and those who support the field either financially or administratively know what dance can do for others; they see it every day. For so many, it isn’t just another job; it is a way of life. Whether that life is lived as a professional or recreational dancer, or even as a viewer, the art form offers a great deal to its devotees. As teachers, we know that dance can transform lives, which makes it a powerful tool for community outreach.
Funding for organizations is often dependent upon ensuring that education is a priority. The world-renowned dance mecca located in the Berkshires of Massachusetts, Jacob’s Pillow, is a good example. With ongoing free exhibits available throughout the year, Jacob’s Pillow hosted its 13th annual community day for all ages in July, which included performances, workshops and activities. Pillow goers were treated to a day of wonderfully diverse dance including Appalachian clog dancing, Afro-Brazilian and East Indian stick dancing, tap dance, and traditional Arab dance and music. In the past, this festival has attracted over 1,000 people. Moreover, the School at Jacob’s Pillow, featuring world-renowned faculty, is open to public observation at no charge Tuesdays through Saturdays, 9 a.m–5 p.m.
Jacob’s Pillow is just one of hundreds of examples of dance organizations doing community outreach. Yet we hear very little about what is going on in our local communities with studio owners across the country and what outreach does for those involved. Ideas for reaching out are plentiful. From Alabama to Texas and from Tennessee to California, examples abound of dance studios and organizations that believe community outreach is fundamental to the operation of their business. In fact, Pamela Orenstein, the Dance Dimensions’ studio owner in Woodland Hills, CA, has dedicated a full page on her website to the subsidiary non-profit group of her studio: Dance Dimensions Community.
Supported with private monies, including funds from Alec Baldwin who has given to this non-profit organization since its inception, Orenstein says, “We are committed to the spirit of volunteerism and community activism. Our students are empowered to set and achieve both dance and life goals through community service and mentoring programs.” Orenstein also sits on the Board of Directors for Los Angeles' Valley Cultural Center. There she serves as the advisor to dance programming and the chairwoman of outreach programs, charged with overseeing the creation and implementation of citywide campaigns. Committed to this for many years, she offers a summer program geared to children who live in foster homes, have been victims of violence, come from low-income families, and other challenging situations. “The rewards,” she says, “are tenfold, not only for me, but for all involved.”
Melinda White and her daughter Anna White, who co-direct the Melinda Leigh Performing Arts Center in Mobile, AL, know the power that dance brings to their community. Actively involved in sharing dance, they get the New Year off to a great start with a free event in downtown Mobile called First Night Mobile. Their goal: to promote and expose many art forms to local families. The Whites have also used dance to raise money for local and national causes, hosting a benefit concert to raise $1,800 for United Cerebral Palsy, performing in the Azalea Festival to raise funds for local schools, and performing for Relay for Life to raise money and awareness for breast cancer research. They have even been involved with raising money for building a town library.
Back at the studio, the Whites have offered classes to students who are hearing impaired and have paired teen students with younger students who have autism, so the differently-abled students are able to participate fully in mainstream dance classes. “Not only is it a great way for us to advertise and get our name out in the community, it provides much needed services and assistance to worthy causes. Most importantly, it helps our students to learn that their talents and time can be used to help others. We have found that it makes our students more aware and more sensitive to the needs of others and their community,” Anna White says.
“We do a lot of events with our studio that include community outreach performances and programs,” says Christopher Mohnani, the academy and program director for the Donelson-Hermitage Academy of Performing Arts at Ta-Dah! Dance in Nashville, TN. One inventive Ta-Dah! outreach program includes reading stories at the local libraries and Barnes & Noble bookstore. Mohnani explains, “Our studio manager comes and reads a story to the children visitors while one of our students dances the particular story being read.” An especially innovative program that builds on this creative idea and brings it into the computer age is the Academy’s new partnership with Vanderbilt University in Nashville, in which it has become a part of Vanderbilt’s "virtual classroom" program that is broadcast around the country. “We present our lecture demonstrations and story times in this format,” says Mohnani.
Like many studios around the country, Ta-Dah! also performs at various senior centers and retirement communities, free of charge. But what they are most excited about this year is their upcoming Mini-Nutcracker performances. The whole community will get to be involved because casting will be open to auditions for the entire community. The goal is to create an outlet in which the community can feel as though they are part of something that is uniquely theirs.
Director, Candace M. Murphy, of U Can – DANCE, Inc. in McKinney, TX, notes that two words are integral to her business’s goals: build and community. One of U Can – DANCE’s primary purposes is to educate the community in dance and other performing arts. Among other goals, they aim to: • Build up the community in which we do business. • Foster a spirit of "giving-back" through our community performances and projects. • Educate the community on various areas of dance while creating a passion for the arts.
They, too, perform at retirement communities, but have also made concerted efforts to find ways to involve the studio in local food drives. Murphy also reports that the studio has been in negotiations to couple with a school that works with mentally impaired students, with the goal of bringing them to her studio.
Scholarships are one of the best tools for reaching out to those students who might otherwise not be able to find an outlet for their creative passions. Jacob’s Pillow considers the granting of scholarships to be a vital part of its program. Ta-Dah! is starting a scholarship dance program for underserved and at-risk kids, and have partnered with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Middle Tennessee and United Health Care Services. Dance Dimensions Community reaches out to students by offering full scholarships to those that qualify.
The outcome of such efforts is rewarding for both the studio and the community. Letters of thanks come from parents, students, and like-minded businesses partners. One example received by Orenstein from one of her affiliates reads, “On behalf of the entire staff, I want to offer a heartfelt thank you… for generously awarding our young client with a one-year dance scholarship. I can assure you that it made a profound difference in the life of someone who truly needed something to smile about.”
Other ideas for studio owners include bringing in a nutritionist to talk about health with community members, partnering with the local cinema that is playing a dance film to do a lecture about the film’s subject (or creating your own dance film festival), offering a free class for community members, or creating a community performance, event, festival, or parade. Sitting on the local arts council can lead to meeting those in the community who care about the arts while also introducing you to many businesses in the area. Partnering with local merchants, health care facilities, libraries, YM & YWCAs, music schools, and other institutions bolsters visibility in the community for both the studio and the partnering organization. Reaching out is a win-win situation. If you haven’t yet gotten on board, you might think of President Obama’s message as your own personal wake-up call. Katie Langan is a Professor of Dance and Chair of the Dance Department at Marymount Manhattan College.