CONNECT
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2020 Grants Challenge

In Progress

Expand In Progress, to become LA's premiere social and concert dance and movement program centering queer, BIPOC and disabled communities and artists.

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In which areas of Los Angeles will you be directly working?

Central LA

In what stage of innovation is this project?

Expand existing program

Please list the organizations collaborating on this proposal.

Downtown Dance & Movement

If you are submitting a collaborative proposal, please describe the specific role of partner organizations in the project.

Good Trouble Makers, under Kai Hazelwood's direction will program, coordinate, and produce all classes and events.

Downtown Dance & Movement will provide space, marketing support, and additional supplies like chairs, barres for classes etc.

What is the need you’re responding to?

LA currently does not have a movement studio that prioritizes Queer, Disabled, Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC.) Downtown LA is emerging as a center of queer nightlife and community. It's central location makes it also accessible to disabled and BIPOC populations. Good Trouble Makers and Downtown Dance & Movement are joining forces to address the absence of movement based programming that centers artists and members of these communities.

Why is this project important to the work of your organization?​

Good Trouble Makers (GTM) already serve BIPOC, disabled, and creative communities offering classes, community gatherings, parties, and performances making us uniquely qualified to expand programming for these communities. GTM's shared leadership is a diverse reflection of the communities we share and is guided by a mission statement that centers diversity, equity, and inclusivity.

Centrally located in downtown LA, Downtown Dance & Movement (DDM) was designed to be fully level and easily navigated by physically disabled people who are so often completely invisible in the performing arts, especially dance. With their gender neutral bathrooms facilities DDM makes a perfect partner. Together GTM and DDM have already run In Progress to serve the populations centered in both organizations missions and hosted 2 years of classes centering queer folx, people of color, and disabled artists and community members.

Approximately how many people will be impacted by this proposal?​

Direct Impact: 30

Indirect Impact: 500

Please describe the broader impact of your proposal.

In Progress will have a profound impact in the disabled, queer and POC communities in Los Angeles, both in terms of accessibility to the arts and overall emotional health. To have a program that centers the distinct needs of these communities is incredibly vital, as everyone deserves to have representation that speaks directly to them and their lived experiences. By creating and funding a dance program that showcases accessible social and concert dance, downtown Los Angeles would not only be serving its diverse and intersectional communities, but would also be serving as an example to other cities that accessible arts programs are both possible and necessary.

Please explain how you will define and measure success for your project.

Success for this project would look like robust attendance for our classes, returning clientele, and a strong community. This will be measured by:

1. Collecting data on program participants from artists, students, and audiences that prove the majority of our participants are a part of the BIPOC, disabled, and queer communities)

2. Mailing list growth, indicating new people joining our community

3. An upward trend in attendance numbers which will be measured by tracking attendance at classes and events

3. Post event and workshop surveys indicating positive experiences by attendees

Which of the CONNECT metrics will your submission impact?​

Public arts and cultural events

LGBTQ+ equity and inclusion

Disability access and inclusion

Are there any other LA2050 goal categories that your proposal will impact?​

LA is the best place to CREATE

Which of LA2050’s resources will be of the most value to you?​

Access to the LA2050 community

Communications support

Strategy assistance and implementation