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The Gabriella Axelrad Education
Foundation was established in December,
1999 by family and friends in memory of
Gabriella Axelrad, a 13–year old who loved to
dance. It was the hope of Gabri's family and
friends that under–served Los Angeles
children might receive the same joy and
benefits from dance that Gabri had in her
short life.
In May, 2000, the Foundation's dance
program, everybody dance!, opened its
doors in a low–income housing project just
west of downtown. The program started with
35 students in 12 weekly classes. Demand for
dance classes was so intense, however, that
the program was forced to keep adding
classes and establishing wait lists. There are
now over 900 students enrolled in 103 weekly
dance classes in ballet, tap, jazz, hip-hop
and modern at three state–of–the–art dance
studios in the Pico–Union, Rampart and
Koreatown communities of Los Angeles.
In 2005, the Foundation opened a
dance–themed public elementary charter
school – one of the first such schools in the
United States. Gabriella
Charter School
students study dance one hour each day and
dance is infused into the standards–based
curriculum.
With the help and support of many individuals
and organizations, everybody dance! is
giving Los Angeles' underserved children a
chance to expand their potential and broaden
their horizons through the arts. everybody
dance! strives to instill in its students a love
of dance and the arts, while increasing their
chances for a productive future.
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about us
