Accessibility Achievements

Reaching Diverse Audiences:  

Through Dance for Change, The Center for Contemporary Dance in partnership with the Deaf Service Bureau of West Central Florida (link to http://www.deafservicebureau.org/) and Lighthouse Central Florida, (link to http://www.lighthousecentralflorida.org/) has created several groundbreaking performances that made the dance arts accessible to persons with blindness and deafness.  Shows included special performances by sight-impaired dancers, who were trained to dance by The Center’s professionals. Through guided narratives, innovative sound cues, and American Sign Language Interpretation, audience members with sight and hearing limitations were able to fully enjoy the experience of dance and, today, The Center for Contemporary Dance continues to make performances and programs accessible to diverse audiences.  

Supporting Women and Minority Artists:  Dance for Change makes it possible for women and minority choreographers to develop and showcase new dance works, adding richer dimension to the artistic landscape in Central Florida.  Four female artistic directors currently maintain residency at The Center for Contemporary Dance, and Dance for Change funding has empowered them to develop their own performance companies by providing access to rehearsal space, business training and venue space in which to present new works.  Likewise, Dance for Change supports several minority artists in the development of works and programs that feature important cultural perspectives in dance, including those of Indian, African, Hispanic and Asian influence.

Education Achievements

Scholarship Programs:  Many talented young people were born to be great dancers, but lack the means to pay for the training necessary to fulfill their purpose.  This year alone, Dance for Change has made it possible for The Center for Contemporary Dance to provide more than $45,000 in dance scholarships to young people from financially challenged families.  All scholarship recipients study at The Center for Contemporary Dance and many have gone on to attend prestigious dance programs, including those at The Julliard School and New York University.  With your support, (link to support us) we can continue to assist many more talented and deserving young people in reaching their dreams.

Creative Expression for Non-Dancers:  Anyone can dance.  Through Dance for Change, The Center for Contemporary Dance has had the privilege of teaching dance to children from important community organizations, including as Best Buddies of Central Florida (link to http://www.bestbuddies.org/site/c.ljJ0J8MNIsE/b.999721/k.D0E3/Florida.htm), Lighthouse Central Florida (link to http://www.lighthousecentralflorida.org/), The Girl Scouts of Citrus Council (link to http://www.citrus-gs.org/), and Hope CommUnity Center (link to www.offm.org).  Programs brought to these organizations use dance to teach children new tools for expressing themselves in both creative and social arenas, leading them to improvements in self-esteem, academics and overall well-being.      

Outreach Achievements

Reaching Underserved Populations:  Through Dance for Change, The Center for Contemporary Dance has been able to provide thousands of free performance tickets to underserved and minority children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, allowing these unique populations to access the arts by removing financial barriers that usually prevent them from doing so.  Dance for Change makes it possible for The Center for Contemporary Dance to continue to invite children free of charge to many of events (link to featured program page), so that parents and educators may give children unique artistic experiences that contribute to their development as well-rounded citizens.

Arts-in-Community Programs: Dance for Change makes possible the development and implementation of important community programs that validate children and adults alike, giving them a deeper understanding of their potential for greatness.  Movement workshops brought to women’s shelters and arts-education programs geared to abused and underserved children have been components of therapeutic regimens, providing important gateways for expressing thoughts, feelings and ideas.  In addition to these specialized programs, Dance for Change allows The Center for Contemporary Dance to bring arts-education workshops into many underserved public schools throughout Central Florida.

Achievements

Below is a small sampling of the many achievements made possible through Dance for Change.

Education Achievements

Scholarship Programs:  Many talented young people were born to be great dancers, but lack the means to pay for the training necessary to fulfill their purpose.  This year alone, Dance for Change has made it possible for The Center for Contemporary Dance to provide more than $45,000 in dance scholarships to young people from financially challenged families.  All scholarship recipients study at The Center for Contemporary Dance and many have gone on to attend prestigious dance programs, including those at The Julliard School and New York University.  With your support, (link to support us) we can continue to assist many more talented and deserving young people in reaching their dreams.

Creative Expression for Non-Dancers:  Anyone can dance.  Through Dance for Change, The Center for Contemporary Dance has had the privilege of teaching dance to children from important community organizations, including as Best Buddies of Central Florida (link to http://www.bestbuddies.org/site/c.ljJ0J8MNIsE/b.999721/k.D0E3/Florida.htm), Lighthouse Central Florida (link to http://www.lighthousecentralflorida.org/), The Girl Scouts of Citrus Council (link to http://www.citrus-gs.org/), and Hope CommUnity Center (link to www.offm.org).  Programs brought to these organizations use dance to teach children new tools for expressing themselves in both creative and social arenas, leading them to improvements in self-esteem, academics and overall well-being.      

Outreach Achievements

Reaching Underserved Populations:  Through Dance for Change, The Center for Contemporary Dance has been able to provide thousands of free performance tickets to underserved and minority children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, allowing these unique populations to access the arts by removing financial barriers that usually prevent them from doing so.  Dance for Change makes it possible for The Center for Contemporary Dance to continue to invite children free of charge to many of events (link to featured program page), so that parents and educators may give children unique artistic experiences that contribute to their development as well-rounded citizens.

Arts-in-Community Programs: Dance for Change makes possible the development and implementation of important community programs that validate children and adults alike, giving them a deeper understanding of their potential for greatness.  Movement workshops brought to women’s shelters and arts-education programs geared to abused and underserved children have been components of therapeutic regimens, providing important gateways for expressing thoughts, feelings and ideas.  In addition to these specialized programs, Dance for Change allows The Center for Contemporary Dance to bring arts-education workshops into many underserved public schools throughout Central Florida.

Outreach Achievements

Reaching Underserved Populations:  Through Dance for Change, The Center for Contemporary Dance has been able to provide thousands of free performance tickets to underserved and minority children, the elderly and persons with disabilities, allowing these unique populations to access the arts by removing financial barriers that usually prevent them from doing so.  Dance for Change makes it possible for The Center for Contemporary Dance to continue to invite children free of charge to many of events (link to featured program page), so that parents and educators may give children unique artistic experiences that contribute to their development as well-rounded citizens.

Arts-in-Community Programs: Dance for Change makes possible the development and implementation of important community programs that validate children and adults alike, giving them a deeper understanding of their potential for greatness.  Movement workshops brought to women’s shelters and arts-education programs geared to abused and underserved children have been components of therapeutic regimens, providing important gateways for expressing thoughts, feelings and ideas.  In addition to these specialized programs, Dance for Change allows The Center for Contemporary Dance to bring arts-education workshops into many underserved public schools throughout Central Florida.

“Thank you for showing our children what we tell them:  Because you're different doesn't make you less.”

Heather Barnes,

Program Supervisor for

Best Buddies Florida