Newsletter Summer 2019

Jocelyn's 10-year journey pg. 6

Lift: Continuing to invest in tomorrow's leaders pg. 8

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SUMMER

Introducing the Class of 2019 pg. 5

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Knowing The Wooden Floor is celebrating the Class of 2019 - our first students to complete up to a 10-year journey at The Wooden Floor. As I reflected on this accomplishment, a Chinese proverb resonated with me: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."

Dawn S. Reese

Chief Executive Officer

@DawnSReese

During the steps along their journeys, our students learned that having a big vision for their lives requires sacrifice, determination, and focus. We as an organization have learned a tremendous amount over the past 10 years as well, through the stories of students like Jocelyn (see pg.

6) and her fellow Class of 2019 graduates. We know that by supporting each student through their elementary, middle, and high school years, it is imperative that we deepen critical services and increase our staff mentor team, which enables us to: listen even more intentionally to their concerns; connect as a caring community; and navigate the challenges that poverty imposes on them.

Our students express through journaling in their dance education classes that they know The Wooden Floor is always there for them, and we are making plans to ensure that more children know this, too. We are excited to announce our plans to grow again to a third, prospective location to serve 100 additional children with dance classes, a dance lab, education center, and family resource office.

(See pg. 8) The approach we are taking to fulfill our vision is to pre-fund 10 years of program operating expenses in order to be prepared to serve these additional students throughout their 10-year journeys with quality programs and the transformational outcomes our community has come to expect–without diminishing service outcomes for our existing student body.

Let’s work together to ensure that even more children, like the Class of 2019, have the confidence to step beyond their familiar surroundings and into lives full of possibilities.

With Gratitude,

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THE WOODEN FLOOR

Mission Moment

For this year’s Annual Concert, Of Knowing Where, choreographer David Dorfman has worked with students to co-create a piece that focuses on “the joys and travails of deep friendship, trusting love, and safe places in a crazy world, as well as the camaraderie that is established with vibrant young people.” With an original musical score by Elizabeth de Lise, performed live on cello, percussion, guitar, electronics, and voice, the students will surround the theatre with humanity, humor, and wildly athletic dancing. See page 10 for more details on The Wooden Floor’s 36th Annual Concert.

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Newsfeed EN EL ESTUDIO: Three En el estudio events were held for our parents, one for each cast from our upcoming 36th Annual Concert: Of Knowing Where. Choreographers David Dorfman, Angie Muzzy, and The Wooden Floor’s Artistic Director, Falon Baltzell treated each event as a working rehearsal with a lecture demonstration, so parents could hear from the choreographers and their students about what went into the creation of the movements as well as see a preview of each piece.

COLLEGE TOURS: During spring break, our students went on college tours as a part of our college and career readiness services. Schools visited include: California State University, Fullerton; Chapman University; Fullerton College; Orange Coast College; and University of Redlands. With some middle-schoolers in attendance, these tours are often our students’ first glimpse into college life.

CAREER NIGHT:

Follow us on @TheWoodenFloor

Snapshots of our youth in motion.

The Wooden Floor held a Career Night for our students on the topic of business management. The room was filled with young people eager to hear from professionals who work in the corporate environment. The panel consisted of Kasia Hargrove and Tim Carter from New York Life, Elaine Chen and Saki Uemura from Kingston Technology, Raffy Helou from Doubletree by Hilton, and Terri Baas from Candela Corporation. Our engaged students learned about the business market, investment risks, how to start a business, career challenges, and what qualities employers look for in future employees.

MASTER CLASS: As part of our dance curriculum, we invite choreographers from all over the world to teach master classes that encourage diversity, fun challenges, and worldly experiences. Yaya Zhang (pictured) taught our students traditional Chinese Folk Dance and a Tibetan Folk Dance, sharing her 20 years of experience as a multidisciplinary artist in stage performance, choreography, and the creation of modern art.

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THE WOODEN FLOOR

Introducing the Class of 2019 ...and the colleges they have been accepted into: Baylor University Brigham Young University Cal Poly Pomona Cal Poly San Luis Obispo CSU Chico CSU Dominguez Hills CSU East Bay CSU Fullerton CSU Long Beach CSU Los Angeles CSU Northridge Chapman University

Fullerton Community College Grand Canyon University Laguna College of Art and Design Northern Arizona University Orange Coast College Otis College of Art and Design Pomona College Princeton University San Francisco State San Jose State Santa Ana College Santiago Canyon College

Stanford University UC Berkeley UC Davis UC Irvine UC Los Angeles UC Merced UC Riverside UC San Diego University of Southern California Yale University

*as of April 22, 2019

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In the First Person:

Jocelyn, Class of 2019

“I use the creativity that I have developed in dance class when I need to create something for a school project. What I’ve learned while creating dance isn’t all that different from what I have to do for school. I use that same mindset, where I’m able to create something with purpose and intention.

One of my memories that stands out from my 10 years at The Wooden Floor is from a class where we sat in a circle and just talked about our day. That conversation led to advice about the future and reassurance about what to do when facing a tough time in life. I love that I was able to talk about these questions and be able to hear honestly how to face the future ahead.

The Wooden Floor is family. Here, students are able to have support emotionally and academically.”

Jocelyn is a graduating senior at the Samueli Academy in Santa Ana. She plans to attend community college and then transfer to California State University, Long Beach to major in Design. Her dream is to travel abroad to finish her design program or to teach English. Jocelyn’s brother Anthony, who also graduated from The Wooden Floor, is the first in their family to attend college.

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THE WOODEN FLOOR

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Continuing to Invest in Tomorrow’s Leaders W

e are thrilled to announce that this past March, The Wooden Floor’s Board of Directors identified and approved a third location for the organization, located within the same Depot at Santiago workforce housing community.

Student Mentoring Space

Dance Studio

As we celebrate the first anniversary of our second location, The Wooden Floor at the Depot at Santiago, we are humbled by the generous contributions from our Lead Campus Expansion Underwriters and supporters as well as our partnership with C&C Development and Orange Housing Development Corporation. Due to this community support, our programmatic operating expenses for our second location are fully pre-funded for 10 years, which has allowed to serve an additional 100 students, totaling 475 youth year-round.

This exciting announcement allows us to move to the second phase of our campus expansion goals—to prefund our third location to serve yet another 100 students on their 10-year journeys at The Wooden Floor. The Wooden Floor has entered into a memorandum of understanding for the space, predicated on our ability to pre-raise the funds for 10 years of operation by 2020.

This third location will include a dance studio, dance lab, education center, and family counseling center, as well as a gathering space for students and families.

As we fulfill this last year of our comprehensive campaign, we are provided with a unique opportunity to grow again with your support. We emphasize that all gifts, of any size, do make a difference. You can help us lift more children out of poverty to their full potential.

Please contact Dawn S. Reese, Chief Executive Officer at Dawn@TheWoodenFloor.org to discuss how you can make a difference or visit LiftCampaign.org.

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Counseling Office

THE WOODEN FLOOR

2018-2019

Board of Directors Arthur Ong,* Chairman Executive Vice President, Deputy General Counsel PIMCO Saar Swartzon,* Vice Chairman Principal Attorney, Cohn & Swartzon, a Professional Law Corporation Judith F. Posnikoff, PhD,* Treasurer Managing Director, Martlet Asset Management Company, LLC

Main Entrance

Courtyard

Epiphany Owen,* Secretary Partner, Best Best & Krieger, LLP Theresa Allen,* Managing Director and Portfolio Manager, First Republic Private Wealth Management Sasha Ayloush, Director of Sales and Marketing, Hydraflow Falon Baltzell, MFA, Artistic Director, The Wooden Floor Joseph Chatelle, Principal, Mercer Michelle Dean,* Community Leader Bryan Green, Financial Advisor, Edward Jones Jehan Jayakumar, Founding Partner, Carlson & Jayakumar, LLP

Education Center

Dance Lab

Jeremy Krout, President/CEO, Environmental Planning Development Solutions, Inc. Meg Lehmann, Vice President and Managing Director, Gochnauer Family Foundation Iris Lopez-Guevara, Parent Representative, Community Leader

Catherine M. MacIver, Community Leader Dale A. Merrill, MFA Dean, College of the Arts, California State University Fullerton Alix Portillo, Alumni Representative, Compliance Analyst, Commercial Bank of California, Dawn S. Reese, CFRE, Chief Executive Officer, The Wooden Floor Rossi Tassev, Parent Representative, Community Leader Mary E. Tolar, Vice President and Senior Strategic Program Manager, American Funds/Capital Group Companies, Inc. Ernesto M. Vasquez, FAIA, NCARB, Partner & CEO, SVA Architects, Inc.

BOARD EMERITI Joan Beall, Community Leader Beth A. Burns, Founder of The Wooden Floor and Artistic Director (’83-’05) Sharon Hartshorn, Community Leader Richard C. Hunsaker, President, Hunsaker Management Virginia Hunsaker, Community Leader Damien M. Jordan,* General Manager, Retired, American Funds/ Capital Group Companies, Inc. Yvonne M. Jordan, Community Leader Socorro Vasquez, Community Leader *Executive Committee Members.

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danceup T I C K E TS ON SALE NOW Reserve your tickets at

TheWoodenFloor.org/ OfKnowingWhere

AN INSPIRING CONTEMPORARY DANCE EVENT A powerful, must-see contemporary dance performance, featuring the nation's top artists, designers, and choreographers working in collaboration with youth from low-income communities. These young dancers harness their distinctive points of view to consistently produce poignant, ground-breaking dance pieces that have drawn national accolades.

Featuring choreography from Falon Baltzell, David Dorfman, and Angie Muzzy.

A RTS N I G HT O UT Free pre-performance chat with the cast + choreographers FRIDAY, MAY 31 AT 6:45PM Presented by

Based in Santa Ana, California, The Wooden Floor is one of the foremost creative youth development nonprofit organizations in the country. We transform the lives of young people in low-income communities through the power of dance and access to higher education.

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THE WOODEN FLOOR

Supporter Sightings Inside the Studio March 13, 2019 Guests enjoyed an interactive event which gave them a first look at the works-in-progress for our 36th Annual Concert: Of Knowing Where. Students and choreographers David Dorfman and Angie Muzzy answered questions from the audience moderated by The Wooden Floor’s Artistic Director, Falon Baltzell. Audience members gained insight into our innovative dance-making process, viewed sections from all three dances, and were wowed by the poise and grace of our students.

Step Beyond Breakfast Encouragement Underwriter Janet Ray and Supporter Mary Anne Emett To learn about more ways to get involved, please contact Director of Annual Giving Tianna Haradon at 714.541.8314 ext. 124 or Tianna@TheWoodenFloor.org

Upcoming Event Enjoy some of the highest rated wines from around the world while raising funds to transform the lives of under-served young people. Please join us in keeping the promise we make to the 475 students we serve —from here, you can step anywhere.

Underwriting and ticket information available at TheWoodenFloor.org/ WineTasting.

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 12, 2019 AT 6:00PM BIG CANYON COUNTRY CLUB NEWPORT BEACH, CALIFORNIA

13TH ANNUAL

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RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT US POSTAGE

PAID

SANTA ANA, CA PERMIT NO. 949

1810 North Main Street Santa Ana, CA 92706-2727 714.541.8314 TheWoodenFloor.org

Come join us!

MAY 30-JUNE 1, 2019

36th Annual Concert: Of Knowing Where Be inspired by our young artists as they perform new works created with leading contemporary dance choreographers.

JULY 18-20, 2019

Co-Creation Lab Experience a powerful collaboration between The Wooden Floor’s dancers and the acclaimed artists Rashaun Mitchell + Silas Riener as part of the Merce Cunningham Centennial Celebration.

Tickets on sale June 1 at TheWoodenFloor.org/Lab.

SEPTEMBER 12, 2019

13th Annual Keep the Promise™ Wine Tasting Benefit Sample the world's most exquisite wines. Proceeds help us keep the promise to each of our students: from here, you can step anywhere.

More information at TheWoodenFloor.org/WineTasting.

Photography by Christine Cotter and Tony Lattimore. ©2019 The Wooden Floor. DanceUp is a trademark of The Wooden Floor.

Tickets on sale now at TheWoodenFloor.org/OfKnowingWhere.