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 under-resourced 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.