Project L.E.A.P. GLBTQ Youth-Centered Performing Arts Initiative

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GLBTQ Youth-Centered Performing Arts Initiative “Project L.E.A.P.” Classes
LEAPSaturday, November 24, 2012 until May 2013, every Saturday 3-6 PM
Miami Dance Studio
222 NE 25 Street
Miami, 33137

Final Performance:
Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts
1300 Biscayne Boulevard
Miami, FL 33132

GLBTQ or GLBTQ-friendly youth register by e-mailing info@miadancestudio.com or dialing (305) 572-1119.

Pioneer Winter Collective receives a grant to support Project L.E.A.P.(Living Equality through Arts and Performance)from The Miami Foundation’s GLBT Community Projects Fund. Project L.E.A.P. will provide free dance and creative communication workshops for GLBTQ 14-18 year-old youth and their allies with a culminating community performance at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts.

Pioneer Winter Collectivereceived a grant from The Miami Foundation’s GLBT Community Projects Fund for Project L.E.A.P.(Living Equality through Arts and Performance), aneffort to increase self-efficacy, provide cultural opportunities and artist mentoring, and foster community understanding of GLBTQ (Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, Transgender, Questioning) youth issues by utilizingthe performing arts as a vehicle for social awareness.

“We are grateful to The Miami Foundation for investing in Project L.E.A.P. and our mission of promoting the performing arts as a means of community engagement,” saysPioneer Winter, director of Project L.E.A.P.“This generous grant allows us to offer free classes in dance and creative communication to kids who may not otherwise have the opportunity to cultivate their talent in the arts. The project also aims to instill confidence by providing a performance opportunity and a platform for self-expression.”

These opportunities are important to Miami-Dade’s youth because there are few programs as comprehensive as Project L.E.A.P. in Florida. Key features of Project L.E.A.P. include:
• Providing weekly dance and creative communication classes ledbylocal teaching artists for six months –every Saturday 3-6 PM at Miami Dance Studio (222 NE 25 Street, Miami, 33137).
• Providing a network of professional artists in the Miami-Dade community to participants for continued resources, communication, and support beyondthe six months.
• Facilitate a culminating side-by-side performance in May 2013 at the Adrienne Arsht Center for the Performing Arts Peacock Foundation Studio.
• Access to local cultural and performance venues to compliment their Project L.E.A.P. sessions.
• GLBTQ-identifying youth will be able to work closely with their peers, developing their own unique methods of performance to draw connections and relate to one another.
• Visiting speaking artists will serve as mentors throughout the project, in conjunction with the main teaching artists. These speakers will provide the participants with anecdotes and their experience as socially conscious artists.
• Participants will have open discussions to generate ideas and knowledge pertaining to different topics important to youth, whether it is health, identity, community, etc.
• Project LEAP will work closely with local GLBTQ youth advocate organizations like Pridelines Youth Services and high school Gay-Straight Alliances to ensure the program benefits its participants.

“This project is aligned with the priorities of The Miami Foundation,” said President and CEO Javier Alberto Soto of The Miami Foundation. “The charitable resources that donors provide allow us to address emerging needs and invest in programs such as Project L.E.A.P.that nurture the artistic and social development of our youth, thereby creating conscientious citizens and lifelong supporters of the arts.”

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