Reach Your Peak Partners up with CityDance

Reach Your Peak Parners up with CityDance www.citydance.net to create the CityDance Early Arts and Many Hats Institute's East of the River D.R.E.A.M. Partnership

This new partnership of the CityDance Early Arts and Many Hats D.R.E.A.M. curriculums is an ambitious initiative to bring the arts, community-building and the values of self-esteem and self-determination to the children in our nation's capital who need it the most - those east of the river in Wards 7 and 8.

The mission of CityDance Early Arts is to open up the world of the arts and, most specifically, the joy of movement and dance to our children. Early Arts has an unwavering commitment to those communities where arts education is the least accessible and affordable. In 2003, CityDance Ensemble Early Arts reached over 10,000 students in the DC-Metro area through performances and classes in area schools.

The goal of the East of the River D.R.E.A.M. initiative is to bring after-school dance, arts education and community-building programs to all 37 schools in Wards 7 and 8. Each program consists of a kick-off performance for the entire school by the CityDance Early Arts Performing Company, a twelve week semester of after school classes that meet twice a week and a student performance for school body, teachers and parents. The pilot program began this January at Green Elementary school.

Public funding for arts education in D.C. public schools has been drastically cut over the past few years. It is the mission of this partnership to engage the private and non-profit sectors to rebuild the programs devastated by the loss of public funding and to bring to the youth of our most under-served neighborhoods the beauty of the arts and the lessons of self-discipline, self- esteem and community taught through the arts.