Outreach
Festival Ballet Albuquerque (FBA) is dedicated to creating excellence in dance training and productions by maintaining professional standards that provide the opportunity for dancers to develop to their highest potentials, including pursuing a career in dance. FBA is supported by dancers of all ages who share the passion for dance and their desire to share the wealth and breadth of their knowledge with the community. FBA provides community outreach programs throughout the region to the young and old through special events specifically geared to their target audiences which include schools, senior centers, retirement homes, hospital wards and a multitude of public events with a goal to entertain as well as to educate.
History of Dance and Discovery Workshops
The History of Dance and Discovery Workshops (HDDW) were created by Patricia Dickinson Wells and have been offered to Albuquerque schools for 20 years. HDDW is an educational touring program designed to create a greater awareness of dance while fostering a strong sense of community. During the fully costumed, on-site performances, students learn the history of dance, experience movement as a form of communication and have an opportunity to express themselves and their emotions through their own movements.
FBA’s award-winning onsite mobile History of Dance and Discovery Workshops (HDDW) are funded, in part, by the City of Albuquerque Urban Enhancement Trust Fund (UETF),City of Albuquerque, and the Albuquerque Community Foundation. For fiscal year 2024-25, EUTF has awarded FBA $11,600 to expand its HDDW program. FBA will be working with Joe Gershin(APS Performing and Fine Arts Director)to identify schools for presentations with emphasis on Title I and artistically underserved schools and those with students from lower income families. Students from all cultural, ethnic, racial and socio-economic backgrounds, as well as those with different skills and developmental levels participate in this program
Please consider a matching donation of any amount to help provide the opportunity for FBA to visit more schools in the next two years.
Appropriateness of the Project to FBA’s HDDW Mission
Beyond education, which is a key component of the FBA mission, HDDW presentations serve to build future audiences. The presentations provide an opportunity for all participants, especially those who may otherwise not have the ability to attend live professional dance concerts. The participants will be able to meet and make personal connections with dancers (many are former APS students). A “pen-pal” relationship is encouraged where students enhance writing skills by sending letters to the dance artists who in return send letters back to the school. The FBA dancers demonstrate the high-caliber of arts available in Albuquerque and foster a greater sense of pride in the community. In addition, they serve as role models as they interact with the children and reinforce values of hard work, dedication and perseverance to achieve a goal.
This project not only fills a void of dance arts in our children’s lives but it also provides employment for our local artists. FBA’s dancers reside, work and spend their earnings in the community. It is essential to provide sufficient employment opportunities in order for our artists to remain in Albuquerque and to continue to give back to the community. This project will be an investment in Albuquerque and its art community.
