Versa-Style Next Generation Program

Youth economic advancement

Expand existing project, program, or initiative (expanding and continuing ongoing, successful work)

According to Mt. San Antonio College (2023), overall employment in the creative performance occupational group is projected to grow 14% in the Los Angeles MSA from 2022 to 2032, notably faster than the average for all occupations in the region (4%). However, data from the LAC Department of Arts and Culture (LACDAC) reveals a stark discrepancy in the ethnic/racial makeup of arts and culture workers in LAC, in which around 60% identify as White (non-Hispanic), despite the population being only 27% White (2017), revealing a lack of career development opportunities and pathways for performance artists of color. In a recent survey of current VSNG program participants, 100% identified as “artists of color” and 86% expressed interest in pursuing “a career in the arts.” Without the necessary representation, inspiration and training, these issues will persist, excluding a large portion of the LAC community from accessing economic advancement and creative industry employment.

The VSNG program provides Hip Hop and street dance education and community engagement opportunities for LAC artists ages 15-23. VSNG Program leaders — all of whom are artists of color and alumni of the program — provide personalized instruction in Hip Hop and street dance technique, history and creative industry knowledge, preparing the next generation of artists to enter the field as teaching artists, choreographers, performers and arts administrators. Currently, 28 students are enrolled in the program, representing four high schools and eleven colleges across LAC. The VSNG program meets twice per week, learning from VSDC Co-Founders and Movement Artists. The VSNG program has recently increased its focus on addressing significant challenges regarding creative industry access for aspiring young artists and the ability of diverse groups to take advantage of the opportunities being created in this vibrant sector of the LAC economy. VSDC has intentionally built internal and external career pathways for VSNG program participants by providing skills development in the arts, including college readiness workshops, teaching artist training and the building of necessary professional skills such as time management, professional communication and leadership development. These pathways include employment within VSDC as well as positions with community organizational arts partners such as Everybody Dance LA, A Place Called Home and Inner-City Arts, EduCare and more.

VSDC envisions a creative economy in which Hip Hop and street dance forms create accessible economic advancement and creative industry employment for the communities of color from which they originated. After graduating the VSNG program, alumni have gained employment as teaching artists and administrators at school sites, juvenile detention halls, after school care providers, non-profit organizations and more. As our work becomes more efficient, impactful and focused on the creative economy, we hope to see more artists of color in positions of leadership across LAC. After the COVID-19 pandemic, VSDC leadership implemented a stronger focus on job training in the VSNG program so that more artists of color could access employment. These program graduates have returned to their communities more equipped with high-quality training and life skills, contributing to an LAC arts ecosystem that is more diverse, representative and adaptable to the evolving needs of various communities.

During the 2023-24 programmatic year, all VSNG participants were surveyed (28), providing evidence of the program’s effect on their increased ability to access to creative industry employment: -100% reported increased awareness of career pathways for people like them (from similar racial, ethnic, and/or socioeconomic backgrounds)
-100% reported that they had access to examples of successful careers in the arts through VSDC leadership and teaching artists.
-100% reported improved ability to set and meet personal goals
-100% reported that they learned life skills beyond the dance, like discipline, time management, communication and professionalism.
-93% reported that they were more likely to pursue a career in the arts after high school
To further assess the VSNG program’s impact on the LAC creative economy, VSDC aims to utilize our robust survey system to track data such as the number of VSNG alumni employed in the arts, their perceived impact of their time in the VSNG program and more