What is Dancing Grounds?
In The Words of Our Community
“Dancing Grounds is my therapy & my meditation."
“Dancing Grounds is a home for diversity, embracing all races, ages, and abilities.”
“Dancing Grounds is important to me because it's a place where I can go to dance and express myself, which is necessary to maintain my physical and mental health.”
“Dancing Grounds is a model for fighting against oppression. Our dance studios feel like a truly safe space where we can authentically express who we are as young artists and release our stresses amongst a loving community of peers and adults.”
Our Mission & Values
Dancing Grounds (DG) develops young leaders, promotes health & wellness, and advocates for social change through inclusive and accessible dance programs reaching New Orleans residents of all ages. Our flagship initiative, Dance for Social Change, inspires New Orleans youth to use their artistic talents to catalyze positive social change in our community. We also host the most comprehensive adult dance program in the city. Since 2012, DG has reached over 3,500 young people, 8,000 adults and 12,000 audience members. From our programming to operations, staffing and resourcing, we lead from our values of equity & racial justice, space & place, integrity & accountability, relationships & organizing, abundance & joy.
Opening video from our 10th anniversary Gala. This video features a spoken word performance by Shacondria “iCon” Sibley and Jae Nichelle, telling the story of Dancing Grounds' origins. Randall MacKenzie Rosenberg added video footage and photographs, most by Sean O’Grady, Bobby Bonsey, and Milan Daemgen, creating this video that showcases our community and our work since 2012.
Theory of Change
In 2016, we developed a Theory of Change to articulate our goals, values, and stances. Click HERE to download the full graphic.
History
Dancing Grounds was founded in March 2012 by Laura Stein and Jessi Donley. The two women shared a common vision for bringing the local dance community together and providing more high-quality, accessible dance programming for the city of New Orleans.
Dancing Grounds incubated in Laura’s Bywater home. She converted her living room into a dance studio, the kitchen into an art gallery, and the backyard into a performance space. Starting with one adult Hip Hop class offered once a week, the “Speakeasy Studio” grew to serve hundreds of people by word of mouth alone. Our "Pop-Up Shows," multidisciplinary arts experiences co-produced with the New Orleans Society of Fly Ladies, and other arts events attracted hundreds of audience members.
Fueled by the high demand for Dancing Grounds’ classes and performances, Dancing Grounds started looking for new space and stumbled upon a guardian angel, a local property developer with a vacant shotgun at 3705 Saint Claude Avenue. Dancing Grounds worked with the owner to build out a state-of-the art dance facility with two dance studios and a performance space that opened in March 2014.
Now with over 20 adult classes per week, K-8 weekly classes, and a year round teen program, Dance for Social Change, Dancing Grounds has touched the lives of more than 3,500 young people and 8,000 adults.