Teenagers in full stage makeup sprawled across the stage after dress rehearsal, buzzing with excitement.
“I want to give a shout out to Jen,” one teenager piped up. “I want to thank her for that because she made me proud of myself.”
The group broke into applause.
The sense of accomplishment in the theater was palpable. After all, this is no ordinary dance group. The teens are part of the transcenDANCE CREATE Program. It brings together students from underserved communities throughout San Diego to train in dance and transcend their challenges. This weekend is the culmination of that program: the group’s annual dance concert at the Lyceum Theater.
“The Mission of transcenDANCE is to guide our students to transcend barriers, expand their ambitions and create positive social change through dance and performance,” said executive artistic director Cat Corral.
Carolina Olea, a 19-year-old, said she struggled with anxiety and depression before she came to the transcenDANCE three years ago. She said the leadership training, mentoring, and supportive community at transcenDANCE has helped her find confidence.
“Those three years have taught me so much about myself, about how to grow, how to love myself, how to love others,” Olea said.
Now she says her transcenDANCE “family” is bringing that love to San Diego through a performance focused on creating a culture of kindness.
“We keep teaching people new things when they come to our shows and I think that’s really important,” Olea said. “We’re able to touch people’s hearts with our stories and have people relate to us because we know that we’re not alone.”
This year’s show “Hearts in Action” runs June 28 and 29 at the Lyceum Theatre in downtown San Diego. For tickets, click here.
