NextGen/Youth Dance Project

This funding to date has availed us the opportunity to implement changes to our project in the following areas: The duration of the project timeline has been changed from a 12-week program to a 2-week summer intensive program; The age limit of the students has been decreased to include students ages 8 and older; We have secured a movement therapist from the Twin Cities area to teach our movement therapy classes; We initiated a broader marketing campaign using a mailing list company that provided us with a targeted mailing list of BIPOC families within a 15 mile radius of our studio to send mailers to advertising our program. Since initiating these changes we have seen some, although slower than anticipated, interested registrations to our program. We have procured all instructors but have waited to contract them until our registration deadline of June 19, 2023.

Our original stated outcomes of: 20 students participating in the program, diversity mirroring Twin Cities with no more than 60% identifying as white, and all students present and/or participating in showcase performance are still measurable outcomes we are hoping to meet.; We completed a successful pilot program of NextGen/Youth Dance Project. Students experienced daily classes in modern, ballet, nutrition, and embodied movement exploration led by qualified dance and medical instructional staff. At the end of the program, students participated in an informal showcase hosted at the Threads Dance Nexus that was attended by family and friends of the summer cohort. We received a strong positive response from both students and families, many of whom expressed eagerness to re-enroll for our next session.

Before beginning the project, Threads listed its outcomes as follows:
1. 20 students participating in the YDP program
2. Participating students mirror the diversity of the Twin Cities with no more than 60% identifying as White.
3. All students present and/or perform in the culminating showcase performance planned for May 2023.

We tracked student demographics through registration forms and collected feedback with follow up surveys. We had a total of six students participate in our summer pilot program. Although this was lower than our enrollment goal, we consider this a successful number of participants for a brand new program. We are proud to report that 100% of enrolled students identify as BIPOC and 50% were residents in the Seward neighborhood, where the Threads Dance Nexus is located. All of the students attended the summer showcase and had the experience of performing for friends and family.