Arts Access

TU Dance provided free access to its beginning-level pre-professional dance program for teens of color and teens from low-income families in spring, summer, and fall of 2013, along with introductory classes at schools throughout the Twin Cities metro. TU Dance teaching artists worked with school partners to conduct classes on-site, then invited eligible students to participate in the program. This was followed by an orientation session at TU Dance Center for students and their parents/guardians, at which we provided registration forms and request forms for travel and/or apparel subsidy. We reached 330 youth in early 2013 classes at schools and 146 more in the fall. As a result, we provided subsidy to 22 eligible youth for our 17-week spring program cycle, 18 eligible youth for our 3-week Summer Intensive, and 26 youth for our 13-week fall program cycle. We hosted student showings at TU Dance Center at the end of each cycle, attended by a combined audience of 450 people. 2: We addressed economic and perceptual barriers to dance by providing free access to dance classes and training for beginning-level youth of color and youth from low-income families. Students engaged in the school classes were 73% female and 27% male, and 52% of color (32% African American, 7% Asian American, 6% Native American, 4% Latino, and 3% mixed/other). TU Dance collaborated with Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists, FAIR School in Crystal, Battle Creek Middle School in St. Paul, and Linwood-Monroe School in St. Paul to engage teens’ ages 14-18 through in-school, introductory dance classes in the winter and fall of 2013 and inviting eligible students to continue pursuing dance at TU Dance Center. We collaborated with the University of Minnesota's Barbara Barker Center for spring student performances as well, engaging an audience of 336 people.