Luna Dance Institute

About Luna Dance Institute

Luna Dance Institute, established in 1992, aims to bring creativity, equity and community to every child’s life through the art of dance. Luna uses active inquiry to deepen the learning experience of children and adults, improve teaching practice and build high quality arts programs. As we bring all children to dance, we develop future leaders, choreographers and visionaries.

Each year, Luna brings dance to approximately 20,000 children and 300 or more artists, teachers, and social service providers.  In 20 years we have grown from a local children’s dance program to a nationally recognized dance education organization, providing services to children and the adults who impact their lives – parents, teachers, social service providers, dancers, and artists. Dance educators from across the country and abroad have attended our professional development workshops. Teachers have witnessed the power of dance to heal individuals, families, and communities. Those that know how children can be transformed through dance have come to us seeking support as they develop their dance education programs.

Luna Dance Institute is the result of a process to create a unifying brand between Luna Kids Dance and its professional development wing, formerly known as the California Institute for Dance Learning. We believe that Luna Dance Institute best represents the evolution of our work, placing theory and practice in an infinite loop of possibility for bringing all children to dance.

Values

At Luna we value the endless possibilities revealed when CREATING through dance. Dance requires us to be present and open in the moment, accessing freedom in new and unpredictable ways. Dance is embodied knowledge made visible, aesthetically crafted to communicate through movement. At Luna we value children for who they are today and for their potential to CHANGE and shape our world. We strive for integrity as we serve our COMMUNITY by increasing access to dance for all children and providing support and solidarity to those who teach them.

Staff

We believe that there is greater power in a group of people dedicated to a vision so we hire teachers who have a passion for creativity and wish to do service through the art of dance.

The staff at Luna Dance Institute is committed to the values of the organization in their entirety and seeks to create a team dedicated to critical thinking. Each holds kinesthetic and cognitive intelligence about dance, about people and about the choreographic process. They are committed to the idea of dancer as leader with something important to say with and through their art form.

Luna Dance Institute hires dance teaching artists as full-time, salaried employees with benefits. This represents one of our core objectives: shifting the perception of dance education and professionalizing the field. From time-to-time, we hire guest faculty for their expertise in a particular area.

Affiliations

Luna Dance Institute maintains active affiliations with the following community-based, leadership organizations:

Groups and Steering Committees
Alameda County Office of Education Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership (founding member)
Berkeley Cultural Trust
Berkeley Arts Education Steering Committee
California Dance Education Association (board members)
Dance and the Child International (daCi)
Dancers’ Group, San Francisco
National Dance Education Organization (NDEO)
National Guild of Community Schools of the Arts

Program Partners
Asian Women’s Shelter (AWS)
Cesar Chavez Library (Oakland)
DeColores Child Development Center (Oakland)
Eastmont Library (Oakland)
Marin City-Sausalito Parent Center
New Highland Academy (OUSD K-5)
Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)
Oakland Early Headstart
Project Pride (Oakland)
Solid Foundation (Oakland)
Thurgood Marshall Elementary (OUSD K-5)
Westlake Middle School (OUSD)
West Oakland Public Library

Funders 2011-12 
(for a current, comprehensive list of 2011-12 individual and foundation funders, see funders page)

Alameda County Arts Commission
Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services
Alba Witkin Foundation
California Arts Council
Clarence E. Heller Foundation
Clif Bar Family Foundation
First Five Alameda County Every Child Counts
Mary Sarvis Fund
Morrris Stulsaft Foundation
National Endowment for the Arts
Red Oak Opportunity Foundation
William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
Read More about our Funders

Luna Dance Institute is located in Emeryville, California.  For transportation information click here.