Results: In the last decade alone, Joy of Motion Dance Center has reached more than 10,000 unique dancers, at all ages and stages of development. With three studio locations, a dozen community engagement sites, 50 faculty and teaching artists, and more than 300 classes weekly, Joy of Motion is one of the largest and most comprehensive dance education organizations on the East Coast and has played an essential role in broadening access to instruction and performance in the community and the region as a whole. We were also an “anchor tenant” for the revitalized Atlas Performing Arts Center in the early 2000s and are now a destination for dance on the burgeoning H Street Corridor in Near Northeast DC.
Target demographics: Children, teens, adults, and seniors
Direct beneficiaries per year: 9,000 people of all ages
Geographic areas served: Washington, DC - Metropolitan Area
Programs: - Community Dance School: provides a broad range of classes and workshops to empower avocational dancers, with styles including ballet, modern, hip hop, freestyle, jazz, tap, and flamenco
- Neighborhood Steps: strengthens communities and education through dance, partnering with DC public and charter schools, community organizations, the Mayor’s Summer Youth Employment Program, and DC Youth Rehabilitation Services
- Dance Institute: offers rigorous conservatory-style and pre-collegiate training programs, including the Youth Dance Ensemble (ballet and modern) and the American Dance Conservatory (jazz and tap), which launches in Fall 2017
- Performance Program: mounts more than 50 concerts and events that build appreciation and support for the art of dance, including youth performance companies in hip hop, jazz, ballet, and tap
At Joy of Motion, we believe that dance, and its rare capacity to engage the mind and body in concert, can transform lives -- and thus the study and performance of this art form should be open to those of all ages, abilities, means, and backgrounds. No child is turned away for inability to pay and, in 2016-17, nearly 150 young people from low-income households are receiving need-based financial aid, which covers all tuition costs in 74% of cases.
