Arts Access

Project Details by Fiscal Year
2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$74,179
Fund Source
Arts & Cultural Heritage Fund
Recipient
TU Dance
Recipient Type
Non-Profit Business/Entity
Status
Completed
Start Date
January 2015
End Date
December 2015
Activity Type
Grants/Contracts
Counties Affected
Anoka
Hennepin
Ramsey
Anoka
Hennepin
Ramsey
Project Overview
Arts Access
Project Details
TU Dance will launch a new Student Ambassador Program, training TU Dance Center students to conduct peer-to-peer outreach in local schools, supporting access to dance classes for students of color and low-income students.
Competitive Grant Making Body
Board Members and Qualifications
Ardell Brede: Mayor of Rochester, elected 2002.; Peggy Burnet: Businesswoman, art collector, and community volunteer. Chair of the Nominating Committee, Smithsonian National Board. Trustee, Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Michael Charron: Dean of the School of the Arts, Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota. Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Rebecca Davis-Lee: Touring pianist, piano and music theory teacher; Wendy Dayton: Arts and community leader and philanthropist.; Sean Dowse, Executive director, Sheldon Theatre. Board member for Minnesota Music Coalition, Minnesota Citizens for the Arts, and Anderson Center for Interdisciplinary Studies, Treasurer, Minnesota State Arts Board.; David Glenn: Executive director of the Minnesota Project, ceramic artist; Ellen McInnis: Director of Twin Cities government relations, Wells Fargo. Member of Bottineau Boulevard Partnership. Vice Chair, Minnesota State Arts Board.; Thomas Moss: Consultant to nonprofits and government agencies; Janice Sivertson: Gallery owner and visual artist
Advisory Group Members and Qualifications
Yvonne Cory: Storyteller and textile artist, marketing representative, Faribault County Fair, career and technical instructor, Blue Earth high school; Melissa Cuff: Director of grants and foundation relations for YMCA of the Greater Twin Cities.; Venessa Fuentes: Philanthropy writer at Project for Pride in Living, poet; Sandra Gillespie: Visual artist, online writing instructor, University of Alaska Anchorage, former program director, Alaska State Arts Council; Gabriel Green: Founder and executive director, Wolffe Cultural Center, Duluth, founder and senior pastor, Church of Restoration Twin Ports; Paul Robinson: Senior community leadership consultant for the James P. Shannon Leadership Institute of the Amherst H. Wilder Foundation
Conflict of Interest Disclosed
Yes
Conflict of Interest Contact
Executive director Sue Gens (651) 215-1600
Legal Citation / Subdivision
Laws of Minnesota 2013, Chapter 137, Article 4, Section 2, Subdivision 3
Appropriation Language

ACHF Arts Access

2015 Fiscal Year Funding Amount
$74,179
Other Funds Leveraged
$9,724
Direct expenses
$83,903
Administration costs
$0
Number of full time equivalents funded
0
Proposed Measurable Outcome(s)

Through peer outreach, TU Dance will engage new underrepresented youth (ages 10-18) of color and/or from low-income families. Track number of ambassadors and qualifying participants in activities; track demographics of all participants, including race, gender, age/grade, and economic status (free/reduced price lunch); assess school partnerships via surveys/conferences. 2: Perceptual barriers to dance are broken down and overcome; economic barriers to participation are removed. Track number of qualifying participants provided economic access, including attire, tickets, and/or transit/parking subsidies; evaluate and document changes in youth and parent/guardian attitudes towards dance via pre and post surveys/meetings.

Measurable Outcome(s)

Via peer outreach classes and lecture-demonstrations, TU Dance engaged 1,848 youth and provided access to Center programs for 56 diverse new students. We tracked the number of students engaged through school partnerships involving our twelve youth peer ambassadors. Among both ambassadors and new students enrolled in Center programs as a result of the grant, we collected demographic data. We also collected student and classroom teacher surveys after in-school activities, and conducted face to face follow-up meetings with two school partners. 2: Economic barriers to participation were removed; perceptual barriers were addressed via participation of a diverse group of twelve youth peer ambassadors. We tracked all qualifying students and families provided with tuition, attire, transit, and TU Dance performance ticket subsidies. We surveyed new students after each program cycle to document goals and achievements, prior dance experience, perceptual changes, satisfaction with the experience, and comments. Parent/guardian input is collected in surveys and annual meetings on the value of subsidized participation, perceptions about student engagement, overall satisfaction, and suggested changes.

Description of Funds
Source of Additional Funds

Other, local or private

Recipient Board Members
Chris Andersen, Leif Anderson, Roderick Ferguson, Darin Florenz, Michelle Horan, Priscilla Pierce Goldstein, Marcia Murray, Toni Pierce-Sands, Uri Sands, Zoe Sealy, Kelly Green Vagts, Julia Yager
Project Manager
First Name
Abdo
Last Name
Sayegh
Organization Name
TU Dance
Street Address
PO Box 40405
City
St Paul
State
MN
Zip Code
55104
Phone
(651) 699-6055
Email
Abdo.sayegh@tudance.org
Administered By
Administered by
Location

Griggs Midway Building, Suite 304,
540 Fairview Avenue North,
St. Paul, MN 55104

Phone
(651) 539-2650 or toll-free (800) 866-2787
Email the Agency