The Wooden Floor   

Founded in 1983, The Wooden Floor is one of the foremost creative youth development nonprofit organizations in the country. We transform the lives of young people in low-income communities through the power of dance and access to higher education. In Orange County and through national licensed partners, we use a long-term approach grounded in exploratory dance education to foster the confidence and gifts within each child to innovate, communicate, and collaborate – skills necessary for success in school and in life. 100 percent of students who graduate from The Wooden Floor immediately enroll in higher education. Our students become change agents and beacons of hope within their own families, their neighborhoods, our community, and our world. Our comprehensive strategy and mentoring relationships that last up to 10 years, give youth the tools and guidance to overcome difficult socioeconomic hardships. The Wooden Floor’s holistic model serves at-risk students year-round, after-school with dance, academic, college and career readiness, and family programs, free of charge. Dance education and performance are core transformational elements through which our youth change the way they think about themselves and develop the ability to reach their full potential. In the dance studio, a rigorous 10-level curriculum develops self-knowledge, which evolves into self-confidence, leadership, cooperative learning, creative problem solving, and joy. Rehearsals, dance-making, and performances–such as Annual Concert–teach discipline, goal-setting, commitment, and achievement through hard work. Through Dance Free Weeks, we serve 3,000 low-income youth in elementary schools each fall through five hours of dance education and a culminating performance for their peers. Academic, College and Career Readiness programs ensure our students have fundamental academic and life skills to succeed. Our Family Services take a case management approach to counseling, crisis intervention, and social service referrals to help families overcome socioeconomic hardships and navigate a path toward economic progress and self-sufficiency. These core programs comprise our creative youth development model and copyrighted Theory of Change. 39 years experience yield outstanding outcomes: since 2005, 100% of graduates from The Wooden Floor have enrolled in college, at a rate more than twice the national average for their peers. Alumni currently in college are studying business, engineering, education, social services, medicine and the arts.