As we embark on the new year and exciting energy that our 2022-2023 season promises, we are constantly reminded that “family” does undergo struggles as well as triumphs…together. During the time of this artistic transition, the City in Motion Board of Directors made the difficult decision to move out of our current School of Dance location due to financial hardship. The all-volunteer lead Board committed to ramping up our outreach efforts in the meantime while we search for a more sustainable studio for our School. Our Professional Company, Performance Series, Youth Dance Theater, and Dance Outreach program remain pillars in the Kansas City community. We have learned that City in Motion is not four walls, or one stage, but quite literally a living, breathing family that constantly evolves.
In lieu of our physical location, our professional company has forged new partnerships to find creative ways to rehearse and prepare for our 2023 performances. Our Youth Dance Theater is now operating out of the Linwood YMCA and is offering pre-professional dance programming to young people, all of whom are on dance scholarship. Our Board, Artistic Co-Directors, Volunteers, and Families remain connected to us through a free virtual stretch class, committee service, and various dance outreach events throughout the city. Our Dance Outreach program, founded in 2019, remains a constant way to maintain our mission of dance for everyBODY. We have forged creative relationships with the Academy for Integrated Arts, Kansas State School for the Blind, Community Housing of Wyandotte County, Synergy Services, and others, to bring dance directly to them.
LaCherish Thompson, Community Building & Engagement Manager, Community Housing of Wyandotte County
“City in Motion partnered with Third Friday Art Walk for a night of engaging the community through the art of dance and movement. The dancers and staff brought such a lively spirit to the event. Their passion and eagerness to share with the community was evident and contagious. All night they connected with fellow participants and the community in meaningful ways by leading dance demonstrations in the street, assisting with the event set up, and making new connections. I truly enjoyed their presence and working with City in Motion and look forward to developing our relationship.”
Our organization and everyone in it, is inspired and humbled by the generosity of the Sauceda Family Foundation, and the memory of Bea and Dagberto Sauceda. After 37 years, City in Motion Dance Theater has formed an intergenerational family of its own. Mothers and daughters, husbands and wives, best friends, lovers and community have served this organization, and ultimately become the lifeblood of the organization. The guiding spirit of City in Motion 37 years ago was to create and build dance camaraderie in Kansas City. It is a true artistic feat that this “family” of members range 0 to 100 and all believe that dance is for everyBODY. We live that truth today through our dance programming. This support directly contributes to the transformative power of art through the lens of family as form. Thank you!
October 12, 2022 - This post is part four of a four part blog series documenting City in Motion Dance Theater's 2022-2023 season - made possible by the Sauceda Family Foundation.
