Fall 2013 "Dance Up" - The Newsletter of The Wooden Floor

fall 2013

danceup Providing Hope and Opportunity Through Dance, Academic, and Family Programs

news from The Wooden Floor

Melanie ríos glaser, artistic director

In the First Person If anyone else wants to come here, they should. It’s fun. It’s a place where you have friends and can learn. I have two other brothers at The Wooden Floor.

Because of this place, we’re not getting stuck at home watching TV. I’ve done a lot of things here, like dancing and performing in the Annual Concert, which I’m not scared to do anymore because I’ve been on stage before. During the summer, The Wooden Floor took me to leadership camp in Yosemite, and helped me read better at the Summer Reading Program, where I just finished reading Island of the Blue Dolphins.

PAID

santa ana, ca permit no. 949

nonprofit us postage

Edgar, Class of 2018

RETURN SERVICE REQUESTED

Even though I’m only in 8th grade, the staff is already asking me where I want to go to college and what I want to study. I’m not sure yet, though I like art, chemistry, and physics. It’s scary to think about all the work I still need to do to get ready for college and the money that college will cost, but my brothers and I know that if we stay at The Wooden Floor, we’ll have help getting there and a scholarship.

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

Edgar will begin working with Nelie Ramirez Peña, our college preparatory coordinator, this fall to ensure he and his fellow students are on the right path to college admission.

Tues, September 10, 2013 All Things Fall Event at Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams Home Furnishings

Thurs, September 26, 2013 7th Annual Keep the Promise Wine Tasting Benefit for The Wooden Floor

January 17-18, 2014 The Wooden Floor at REDCAT Walt Disney Concert Hall, Downtown Los Angeles

Enjoy this new collection launch event with a silent auction benefitting The Wooden Floor, featuring luxury brands from around South Coast Plaza. 5:00-8:00pm at MG+BW Showroom in South Coast Plaza Village, 1661 West Sunflower Avenue in Santa Ana (across the street from South Coast Plaza).

Join us in Newport Beach to raise funds for our year-round programs on an “around the world” tour of 14 exquisite, hard-to-find wines, each with an average rating of 96 pts. The evening also features a champagne toast in celebration of our 30th anniversary. More information on the back page.

For the third time, The Wooden Floor’s young dancers will take to the Roy and Edna Disney/CalArts Theatre stage to celebrate their artistic achievement with three innovative dance works for two nights only. Ticket on-sale date and performance times to be announced.

TM

Complete information on events featuring the students of The Wooden Floor is available online at www.TheWoodenFloor.org.

The Ripple Effect A message from Dawn S. Reese, Executive Director & Co-CEO, The Wooden Floor

throughout our history. At our 1st Annual Step Beyond Breakfast, 30th Annual Concert: Sunrise, and the upcoming Keep the PromiseTM Wine Tasting Benefit, we’ve enjoyed thanking and visiting with many generous supporters, like you, who have made such a significant and long-lasting impact on the lives of the more than 75,000 young people we have served in Orange County.

the destructive behaviors in their neighborhoods as they did in the past, they are also becoming beacons of hope and change. The ripple effect of change is happening, as many of their friends and neighbors are looking to them for inspiration and counsel on how to set in motion their own dreams for a better future through higher education and beyond. How can we get this ripple effect to grow?

During this entire year, we are celebrating 30 Years of Changing Lives Through Dance with reflection and acknowledgement of the past to the present. We’ve shared major artistic and organizational milestones

Founder Beth Burns’ vision to use dance as a catalyst for change in under-served communities is as innovative and relevant today as it was in 1983.

Not only are The Wooden Floor students combating

As you know, over the past few years we have not been able to accept about three-times the number of students who line up for our Annual Auditions Day, due to improved student retention and space

Supporter Spotlight

Joan & Don Beall

Their gifts of time, talent, and treasure have included each of their separate terms of service as Board members and leaders in spearheading the organization’s capital campaign in 1998-99.

“It changes a lot of lives,” she continues. “I think we all can learn, from an organization like The Wooden Floor, as to what can be done to make a difference.”

Joan and Don have many wonderful memories from The Wooden Floor.

Joan reminisced about a special memory that stood out from the rest. “The day we opened the new campus in 1999, the kids all rushed over to see their footprints on the wall, and ran through the courtyard, large studios, education center and peered out the many tall windows. Within the course of the day, we watched the students see this new place as their home.

It was wonderful to witness the students’ exuberant reaction to the organization’s transformation from its start in the basement of a church in Santa Ana.” As the organization celebrates its 30th year, the Bealls recognize that the expanded campus of 1999 is now bursting at the seams with 375 students. “We have to grow!

We need more room to serve more kids and their families. There are so many who can benefit from The Wooden Floor’s intensive, hands-on approach,” says Joan.

As The Wooden Floor continues to evolve and grow over the next 30 years, it’s the Bealls’ forwardthinking leadership that will help us represent and serve the real needs of our under-served youth and families.

2 The Wooden Floor | fall 2013

The Next Step:

Beyond The Wooden Floor

For some, walking across the platform at their high school graduation can mean the end of a learning career. For students of The Wooden Floor, the journey from one end of the stage to the other is a portal to higher education, with which comes enumerable possibilities and the potential to do more great things. Over the period of 30 years, The Wooden Floor has seen thousands of youth pass through its studios. For the past nine consecutive years, 100% of our graduating students have enrolled in higher education. Stepping beyond The Wooden Floor not only means leaving, fully-equipped with the right tools to be competitive in the 21st century’s learning and working environment, it also means joining a growing family of graduates who are part of the Alumni Professional Network.

The Network is helping The Wooden Floor stay in contact with alumni and track their success from high school graduation to college commencement, job placement, and beyond. It has also created a well-knit community between the students, who lean on each other for support throughout their college journeys. More importantly, colleges with several graduates from The Wooden Floor form their own support teams. Our five alumni at UCLA have found this to be a very valuable tool where one can get lost in a student body numbering in the tens of thousands.

Looking back, alumni attribute their success to the foundation that The Wooden Floor provided to help develop mind, body, and spirit. Now they are looking for a way to give back, most recently hosting a fundraiser for an alumni-funded college scholarship that will be handed out each June and volunteering at the 30th Annual Concert.

The Wooden Floor’s alumni are up to great things. Our 136 alumni in college are pursuing careers in engineering, medicine, law, business, education, and the arts. These outcomes are achieving our long-term goal to break the cycle of poverty through generational change. To the right are a few alumni updates.

Days of Summer As temperatures soar, so does a student’s learning potential.

Summertime at The Wooden Floor, annually, means using the students’ ample free time to combat the “summer learning slide” by sharpening their reading skills, exercising their brains, and most importantly, remaining active in the dance studio.

Here’s a summer snapshot for students at The Wooden Floor.

992

student hours logged in reading and learning workshops

+

“The Wooden Floor represents the real needs of this county, for students and their families,” says Joan Beall, of the major reason she and her husband, Don, have remained stalwart supporters of the organization for more than 17 years.

52

free weekly dance classes

%

constraints of our campus. Therefore our dance class sizes are getting larger, and the tutoring and college preparatory services are expanding. Ultimately, the benefit of this improved retention is that over the next three years, we will see even larger senior classes that will graduate high school on time, and enroll in higher education.

With this great news, there will be space constraints, increased requirements for dance education, academic tutoring, college preparatory, family services at the teen levels, as well as college scholarships. These all will require greater resources

in order to keep the promise to our students: from here, you can step anywhere.

The Board of Directors, Melanie, and I are exploring ways to meet future needs. We believe that the next 30 years will be as important as our first. You can make the difference in helping us to keep our promise and create a massive ripple effect of change in our students’ lives and our own community.

With deep gratitude,

The Wooden Floor Newsfeed

October-January 2014 Students begin rehearsing to perform at REDCAT at Walt Disney Concert Hall in Downtown Los Angeles, January 17-18, 2014.

October 19 Hundreds of students, ages 8 to 13, and their families are expected to gather to audition for an opportunity to join The Wooden Floor.

September 30-October 18 The Wooden Floor makes its annual return into local school districts providing nearly 3,000 students with free week-long dance immersion called Dance Free Weeks . Students leave with a sense of accomplishment and an appreciation for dance.

TM

September 3 Students return from a brief summer break to begin fall dance classes; our Hutton Education Center opens for free walk-in tutoring.

July 22 Continuing their dance education, seven of our students participate in the Backhausdance Summer Intensive and the José Limón West Coast Workshop.

July 21 After completing their intensive summer dance class schedule, excited students of all ages journey to Summer Leadership Camps at Yosemite Sierra and Thousand Pines.

Jessica C.

BA in American Studies, Minor in Psychology from Wellesley College, Wellesley, MA. Jessica has joined Teach For America, a national teacher corps of college graduates and professionals who commit to teach for two years and raise student achievement in public schools.

She will be stationed in Phoenix, Arizona.

Blanca V.

BS in Biology and Society from Cornell University, Ithaca, NY. Blanca has been selected as a Minority Scholar by the American Brain Foundation and the American Academy of Neurology, where she will attend national conferences aimed at furthering her education.

Blanca is currently a full-time medical student at Rochester University in New York.

Victoria S.

BS in Neuroscience from University of California, Riverside. Victoria is currently spending a second summer as a research assistant at Johns Hopkins in Maryland, studying the mechanisms responsible for neuroimmune disorders and seeking new targets for Alzheimer’s treatments.

Iral B.

Odila G.

Currently attending Paramedic Training. After finishing her prerequisites at Orange Coast College, Odila is employed at the University of California, Irvine as a biomedical researcher and is studying for her paramedic’s license. She plans to transfer to a 4-year university to finish her Bachelors in Nursing.

BS in Social Work from Mount St. Mary’s College, Los Angeles, CA. After recently completing an internship in Washington, D.C., Iral returned to California to pursue a career in the nonprofit sector. She is currently Program Coordinator for health education programs at the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance.

140

high school students met with our college prep coordinator to talk about college plans

118

families served with health and cancer screenings and nutritional coaching during the 2nd Annual Family Health Fair held in partnership with Latino Health Access, Northgate Markets, LA Fitness, West Coast University, and KidVision

Vincent P.

BA in Dance from San Francisco State University. Vincent is currently an intern with the Joffrey Ballet School, learning about arts administration. He will be the assistant to the Artistic Director and the Program Director.

29

Stay up-to-date and join The Wooden Floor online community on:

Brittany F.

BA in Accounting and Business Administration from Chapman University. Fueled by her lifelong love of dance, Brittany recently became a small business owner after founding Tone Barre in Orange, CA, a successful fitness studio that blends Pilates and dance with free weights.

X X

July 8 Supporters of The Wooden Floor and collectors of Latin American art, Sayago & Pardon, debut a rotating contemporary art installation of work

by Argentine artist Gala Berger in the lobbies of The Wooden Floor. The collection, titled Wordings, inspires our young dancers both in and out of the dance studios and features playful and abstract paintings on Chinese Mao Bian Zhi paper.

X

X

high school juniors toured several college campuses including UC Los Angeles, UC San Diego, Cal Poly Pomona, and Chapman University

738

miles traveled to leadership nature camps where students bond with mentors and friends

Dine out to Donate!

We are excited to announce our new partnership with Communities for Cause, a free smartphone app that makes it easy to support The Wooden Floor at local stores and restaurants. It’s easy to do-no coupons or discount codes to remember!

Simply download the Communities for Cause app on your iPhone or Android, and select The Wooden Floor as your cause to support. Participating merchants can be found listed in the app. When finished with your purchase, show the app at checkout and the merchant will make a donation to The Wooden Floor, based on a percentage of your total bill.

Participating local restaurants include Zov’s, Chili’s, Subway, Sharky’s, AnQi, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and many more!

Just scan the QR Code from your smartphone to go straight to the app, or find it in the iTunes or Android app store under Communities for Cause.

www.TheWoodenFloor.org 3

The Wooden Floor Board of Directors 2012-2013 Ernesto Vasquez, Chair AIA, Founding Partner, McLarand Vasquez Emsiek & Partners Jim Driscoll, VICE CHAIR Community Leader Damien Jordan, Immediate Past Chair General Manager, Retired, American Funds/Capital Group Companies, Inc. Richard C. Hunsaker, Treasurer President, Hunsaker Management Glennda Adair Community Leader Joan Beall Community Leader

7th Annual

TM

PROMISE

TM

Wine Tasting Benefit for The Wooden Floor

Catherine Chase Senior Vice President, Credit Suisse Private Bank MARIA CIRESE Parent Representative Community Leader Frank Foster Principal, Residential Strategies, LLC

Friends of The Wooden Floor will gather at Big Canyon Country Club to raise funds for the organization, now celebrating TM its 30th anniversary year. Taking place on Thursday, September 26, 2013, guests at the 7th Annual Keep the Promise Wine Tasting Benefit will taste 14 spectacular wines from around the world, featuring ten different countries and rated an average of 96 pts.

Keep the Promise netted more than $200,000 last year to benefit the 375 students in the organization’s year-round dance, academic, and family support programs. Its popularity is thanks to John and Janice Markley’s tireless work, spending years hand-selecting and donating the hard-to-find wines. Also featured will be a special champagne toast to The Wooden Floor’s 30th year, and, in anticipation of its amazing future.

TM

Sharon Hartshorn Community Leader Virginia Hunsaker Community Leader

When we tell our students, “from here, you can step anywhere,” we promise that we will see them through their long-term journeys to higher education. Please join us in keeping this promise!

Details 7th Annual Keep the Promise Wine Tasting Benefit Big Canyon Country Club in Newport Beach, CA Thursday, September 26, 2013, at 6:00pm

Yvonne M. Jordan Community Leader

TM

Catherine MacIver Senior Vice President, Bank of America Retail Products Group Danny Melita Community Leader

Honorary Co-Chairs Joan & Don Beall Janice & John Markley

Yvonne R. O’Neill Certified Public Accountant, O’Neill Financial Management

The Evening Strolling blind wine tasting competition • Signature hors d’oeuvres • Silent wine auction • Opportunity drawings • Sharing student success • Giving opportunities •

Luz Orozco Parent Representative Community Leader Epiphany owen Partner, Government & Regulatory Law Rutan & Tucker, LLP Cyrus Parker–Jeannette Associate Dean of the College of the Arts, California State University, Long Beach

Sponsorships & Tickets This Benefit sells out every year.

Consider a sponsorship to reserve your tickets.

Sponsorships start at $3,000.

Individual tickets are $350 per person. ($250 tax-deductible)

DAWN S. REeSE Executive Director and Co-CEO, The Wooden Floor Melanie Ríos Glaser Artistic Director and Co-CEO, The Wooden Floor Kristy Santimyer-Melita Community Leader

William Yingling III Community Leader Beth Burns, Board Emerita Founder of The Wooden Floor and Artistic Director (’83-’05) Socorro Vasquez, Board Emerita Community Leader

Photography by: Kevin P. Casey, Christine Cotter, and Nick Koon

Rutan & Tucker, LLP

Bronze Medal

Doreen & Jack Bray Credit Suisse The Ezralow Company Frome Family Foundation Kenny the Printer Newmark Realty Capital Trish & John O’Donnell Amber & Tim Smith William & Nancy Thompson Gary & Mary Tolar Turkish Airlines Julie & Justin Wilson Nancy & Arn Youngman

Copper Medal

Corinthian Colleges, Inc. Pat & John Devine Karin Krogius & Scott Mason The PIMCO Foundation Simon Foundation for Education & Housing Union Bank Barbara & Bill Yingling

Sponsorships and tickets may be purchased with the enclosed envelope, online at www.TheWoodenFloor.org/Benefit, or by calling Ellen at 714.541.8314 ext. 124.

Local Schools Welcome Dance Free Weeks

2013 Advantages of Appreciated Securities

TM

“Can we do it again next week?,” one student asked after returning to his classroom from a session of The Wooden Floor’s community engagement program, Dance Free Weeks . During the fall, The Wooden Floor ventures into local school districts to host free week-long dance workshops for 3rd through 5th graders—an important addition to the otherwise under-funded arts programs in schools. Taught by dance professionals from around Orange County, the engagement program has shown the positive effects that art has in people’s lives.

How will tax laws affect you in 2013? Most people will not notice much of a change. But we also know that the rates will go up for higher-net-worth Americans.

However, there is a silver lining! In his article “Charitable Giving Just Got More Affordable!” Dave Holiday reminds us that, for philanthropically-minded Americans, higher income tax rates makes it less expensive to make charitable gifts, especially gifts of appreciated securities or real estate. For example, a married couple can make a gift of $125,000 in appreciated securities in 2013 for the same net cost of a $100,000 gift in 2012.

Started by our founder Beth Burns as a recruitment tool, Dance Free Weeks has now become a program that ignites creativity and joy in Santa Ana area schools, helping The Wooden Floor serve over 75,000 youth since its inception. Students who complete Dance Free Weeks leave feeling engaged and confident.

To learn more about making a gift of appreciated securities to benefit the young people of The Wooden Floor, or other planned gifts to The Wooden Floor Legacy Society, please contact Keegan Bell at 714.541.8314 ext. 140 or Keegan@TheWoodenFloor.org.

TM

Thank you to the major supporters who have come forward this summer for the students of The Wooden Floor, including: 4 The Wooden Floor | fall 2013

Silver Medal

Newport Beach Magazine

Larry Stofko Executive Vice President, Innovation Institute, St. Joseph Health

Barbara Yingling Community Leader

Janice & John Markley Joan & Don Beall Sharon & Terry Hartshorn

Media Sponsor

Jim Slaughter Attorney at Law, Slaughter & Slaughter, LLP

Mary E. TOLAR Vice President and Senior Strategic Program Manager, American Funds/Capital Group Companies, Inc.

sponsors to date include* Premier

*as of July 30, 2013.

Frank Hall Vice President Resource Development, Retired, St. Joseph Health

TM

TM