To transcend: to go beyond the range or limits of something; to climb so high you cross some boundary.
Our name speaks to our purpose.
At transcenDANCE, our mission is to guide young people in underserved San Diego County communities to transcend barriers, expand their ambitions, and create positive change for themselves, their families, and communities, through dance and performance.
To our students, transcenDANCE is
- A safe space and a safety net.
- A community of love and support.
- A place where our dancers can be authentic and be seen for who they are.
- A place where young people have a voice
- A teacher of wellbeing and mindfulness.
- A teacher of resilience, collaboration and other 21st century skills
- A compass for navigating through adolescence.
- An opportunity/possibility generator.
- A pathway to careers/college.
- A source of family and community pride.
- A place to learn how to dance.
transcenDANCE values consist of seven C’s
- Community –Students and alumni experience transcenDANCE as a second home that promotes safety and belonging.
- Creative expression –The work of transcenDANCE focuses on the power of creative expression in developing social and emotional resilience.
- Courage –We support our students as they strengthen their resilience to challenge the barriers they face and expand their ambitions.
- Collaboration – We create strong partnerships, programs and performances with our students, alumni, staff, and artists supported by the resources of our grant-givers, donors, and community partners.
- Compassionate communication – We value direct communication with kindness and respect. We cultivate caring practitioners of our work.
- Change making – We have a passionate commitment to collective action to improve our students’ well-being and success. We create a platform to amplify their voices.
- Cultural Responsiveness – We strive to continually learn and grow about issues and practices related social, racial, and economic equity so that we can be conscious agents of change.