When Mayor Adrian Fenty and the District’s Office on Asian and Pacific Islander Affairs announced $280,000 in grants to community-based organizations that serve “culturally and linguistically isolated” members of the community, they singled out Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company as one of nine awardees.
“We are excited to fund these organizations as they play a significant role in improving the lives of low-income residents,” said Soohyun “Julie” Koo, director of the office, in a release, noting that the grants help maintain “a high level of supplemental services to the growing Asian and Pacific Islander American community.”
The modern dance company, which was founded by Mr. Burgess, M.F.A. ’94, chair of GW’s Department of Theatre and Dance, is “invested historically in community and citizenry,” according to Mr. Burgess. It also has “a longstanding relationship” with the office, the Smithsonian Institution’s Asian Pacific American office and the School Without Walls, the D.C. public high school located on G Street.
The $20,000 grant is funding a mentorship program for 10 School Without Walls students called the Dana Tai Soon Burgess & Company’s Asian American Youth Program. “It promotes self-expression and self-actualization,” says Mr. Burgess, and enables young people with Asian American heritage to “gain the confidence, self-esteem, skills and motivation needed to reach their full potential.”
According to Mr. Burgess, dance is a language that can bridge barriers and boundaries. Students are networking, expressing themselves and learning about Asian and Asian American history by spending Saturday afternoons with Mr. Burgess going to museums and performances around the city and attending group discussions. They also attend weekly dance lessons with Mr. Burgess and GW theater faculty member Kelly Southall.
The partnership with School Without Walls also includes a personal connection for Mr. Burgess, whose former classmate Heather Pultz is the chair of the arts department at School Without Walls.
“Heather is deeply dedicated to dance and diversity as am I,” he says. “We understand how important it is to give young people opportunities to shadow mentors and have positive role models.”