Community Partnership Program

Through Community Partnership Program, Children's DAnce Foundation dances with 1,600 children each week at more than 30 social service agencies, child development centers, preschools and elementary schools in Birmingham.  CDF’s vision is grounded by a commitment to empower all children through dance. CDF embraces this important work with the disenfranchised and underserved, providing classes to organizations that serve these students regardless of their ability to pay.

All of our classes are participatory and meet at program sites for a considerable length of time – most receive our classes all year . More than 50% of all our partner sites do not pay any fee for our classes and must be fully sponsored by Children’s Dance Foundation through contributions and grant awards. The other half of our partner sites pay a portion to CDF toward the actual cost of services they receive. The balance of the cost must then be secured by grants and contributions.

Of the dozens of partner sites that CDF serves each year:

• 1/3 serve special needs, at-risk or disadvantaged children
• 3/4 serve pre-kindergarten children

All children are in need of the same things: a positive, consistent, nurturing and creative experience. Our dance classes provide just that in addition to being a healthy, physical, participatory activity.

Community Partnership Sites -- click here

Within the Community Partnership Program, there are three main elements of service: 

Movement to Music (community-based)

Movement to Music is a CDF-developed dance curriculum for young children and those with special needs taught by a professional dance instructor and musician each week.  Classes explore movement concepts and qualities such as body, energy, space and time and use dance as a creative vehicle to build developmental skills and self-confidence.

Dance Fundamentals (school-based and community-based)

Modern and jazz dance classes are taught to more than 165 students at four public schools and four community centers who are underserved or at-risk in K-8th grades.  The dance sessions explore dance elements, qualities and vocabulary and provide a fun, healthy, physical activity for these students. 

Dance and Science Initiative (school-based)

This initiative consists of classes for fourth-graders that explore science through dance.  Team-taught by two dance teachers, this program engages 150 students at three underserved public schools.  This initiative directly supports the Alabama Courses of Study for Dance as well as Science.