Keshet Dance Company

Founded in 1996, Keshet Dance Company uses the vehicle of dance to spur learning, connect community, empower youth, and sustain meaningful partnerships. Rooted in dance, mentorship, and a welcoming space for the arts, Keshet mission is to “activate community and foster unlimited possibilities through education, engagement, innovation, and the pursuit of justice.” Our organizational vision is to “actuate a flourishing environment for empowered individuals, nurtured communities, and sustained equity.” Over the past 27 years Keshet has pursued this mission and vision through unique and dynamic partnerships, placing dance in unexpected spaces, using the arts as a catalyst for learning and engagement. For instance, over the past 27 years Keshet’s Arts and Justice Program Initiatives have worked with a broad range of community partners at the intersection of arts and juvenile justice who envision a future where youth are empowered, and where the systems that serve them are transformed, centering the arts as a way to build the well-being of young people and their communities. Keshet’s work in this area includes dance programming for incarcerated and paroling youth; post-release transition and detention alternatives support, through internships and peer-led support; field research supporting policy and advocacy efforts towards meaningful systems change; and community conversations and learning opportunities centering youth voices with an eye towards resource connectivity across social sector and government agencies. Top accomplishments in this area include long-term engagement of previously incarcerated youth (tracking 100% high school graduation rates and a 0% recidivism rate for Keshet-engaged students!), strides in policy reform, and recognition by numerous local, national, and international accolades, included being honored at the White House for Keshet’s unique programming and successes by First Lady Michelle Obama. All of Keshet’s education and engagement programming is rooted in accessibility. Keshet approaches accessibility from both a financial perspective and physical perspective. To remove economic barriers, Keshet offers all classes and performances on a sliding scale with $0 options for all, ensuring unlimited, noncompetitive scholarships for all. Keshet also focuses heavily on ensuring students with disabilities have equal access to all programming. One of the few dance organizations in the country with a dedicated Mixed Ability Dance Program, Keshet is a leader in the national conversation about accessibility in the arts, which translates to accessibility across all of Keshet’s unique partnership programming. It is no surprise that Keshet’s primary project partner for this endeavor is also deeply rooted in community education and engagement. The mission of National Water Dance (NWD) is to promote dance as a vehicle for social change by increasing awareness of environmental and social issues through collaboration with the artistic, educational and scientific communities. NWD creates a national community, which offers platforms for educating students and supporting artistic exchange among professional artists, while engaging and informing the public.