Capital Dance Project
MISSION:
Capital Dance Project’s mission is to uplift the spirit of Sacramento through the production of diverse and inclusive performing arts experiences.
HISTORY/INFORMATION:
Launched in 2015, Capital Dance Project (CDP) is an independent collective of professional dancers that is fiscally sponsored by Blue Line Arts, a nonprofit 501c3 organization. CDP fulfills its mission by providing a platform for artists to create world premiere works in collaboration with local visual artists and musicians, and by providing opportunities to engage and connect with the Sacramento community to make dance accessible to everyone. CDP represents the fulfillment of the dancers' shared dream of creating a uniquely dancer-run company, harnessing their entrepreneurial spirit to create innovative programming, and providing employment to dancers from all over the world who call Sacramento home.
CDP’s premiere event, Behind the Barre: Made in Sacramento annually features world premiere dance works created by CDP’s resident choreographers in collaboration with a diverse collection of Sacramento based visual artists and musicians. This celebration of Sacramento’s vibrant art scene is tied together in a multimedia performance including short films that illuminate the creative process. Thanks to initial investment from the MLS Sacramento Republic FC soccer team and the Sacramento Region Community Foundation in 2016, CDP has grown an outreach program for Sacramento youth to engage with dance through master class series, free open rehearsals, assemblies, field trips to Behind the Barre, and meet-and-greets with the CDP artists. To date, CDP has sponsored 1,000 tickets for Sacramento youth to attend their live dance performances free of charge.
CDP also pushed the vanguard of dance accessibility in 2017 by producing Sacramento’s first ever Sensory Friendly Dance Performance in collaboration with the NBA Sacramento Kings Foundation and the national sensory-friendly organization Kulture City. This performance was specifically designed to make everyone, particularly individuals with autism and other sensory related disabilities, feel comfortable in a welcoming and inclusive theater environment and served 300 people in its inaugural event. In 2018, CDP was awarded a California Arts Council Local Impact grant and expanded the program to include dance classes for individuals of all ages with autism. Since, CDP has continued to offer accessible $5 dance classes and performances for the local sensory friendly community and CDP has collaborated with the Crocker Art Museum, Step One Dance & Fitness, and the B Street Theatre to bring this Sensory Friendly Dance Program to life. In 2019, CDP was honored to receive Kaiser Permanente sponsorship for this program.
This year, in response to the covid-19 Pandemic, CDP is pivoting from their usual live performance programming to create a brand-new Digital Series: Made in Sacramento. CDP’s resident choreographers will explore dance, choreography, and the vibrant Sacramento community in new and reimagined ways on film which will be made available online for free. CDP is also actively reconfiguring the Sensory Friendly Dance Program to fit the new covid-19 reality. CDP was honored to recently receive a 2020 California Arts Council Local Impact grant towards this vital community program.