Rhythm and dance flow through the history of New Orleans—from Congo Square to French Quarter ballrooms to second-line parades that wind through the streets. Laura Stein, who co-founded the nonprofit Dancing Grounds in 2012 with Jessi Donley, immediately felt the expressive spirit of the city as a newly-minted transplant from Philadelphia. As the organization prepares for its seventh annual Dance for Social Change Festival early this June, Stein looks back at the progress made since its inception.

“It was a different time in the city and in terms of the infrastructure for dance,” recalls Stein. New Orleans only seven years removed from Hurricane Katrina in 2012 and still culturally on the mend. “There weren’t a lot of adult classes, so I started teaching one class a week in my living room, and it kind of snowballed from there.”

Ultimately, Dancing Grounds defines itself as a multigenerational arts organization bringing inclusive and accessible dance programs to New Orleans residents of all ages. Now, nine years later, Dancing Grounds has served thousands of adults and children. However, they were not content to limit their productions to the studio and decided to expand into the streets. Thus, “more than a dance studio” has become their modus operandi as well as one of their mottos.

“Part of it is just a personal passion that I brought early on to the organization and also a mindset around what nonprofits are and should be. This idea that if we’re not also addressing the systems and changing systems, we’re just going to be like a hamster in a hamster wheel,” asserts Stein. “Say [for example], we’re responding to the idea that there’s not enough arts programming in schools. Well, are we just accepting that as a given that there’s not enough arts programming in schools? Or, are we also contributing to advocating for better programs to exist? So, it’s taking it out of just a concern for ourselves only and into [one] for the community.” To date, they have formed relationships with other advocacy groups in the city—from the Institute for Women in Ethnic Studies to the Metropolitan Health Services Division and the Musicians’ Clinic.

This year’s Dance for Social Change festival, to be held at the Broadside from June 2–5, focuses on the premiere of Ya Heard Meh? Youth Stories in a Global Pandemic, a dance film that gives voice to the experiences of the youngest Americans for whom the social ramifications of the COVID-19 quarantine have been particularly devastating to mental health. According to Amira, who is also a creative team lead for the DSC, the theme formed around a dialogue about her and other teen company members’ needs during lockdown.

“It just seemed like a common interest in wanting to talk about our personal experiences around this whole year dealing with COVID,” explains Amira. Catherine Caldwell, a longtime adult dance instructor and current managing director for the organization, agrees, acknowledging the importance of “listening to what they need because as adults, sometimes we can forget what it’s like to be a kid. They’re having complex emotions and things that they need to talk through and need someone to listen and support. That in itself to me just makes it (the film) special.” 

In addition to their mission of art and advocacy, Dancing Grounds works to “flip the top-down pedagogy [of dance] on its head… Generally, it’s like 5-6-7-8. I’m (the instructor) telling you what to do… I was never given the opportunity to choreograph anything in a traditional setting until college. That’s also a very unique element of the program: creating a space for young people to make their own work,” says Stein.

Amira Mumford, a performing arts student at NOCCA and six-year veteran of Dancing Grounds, has experienced this freedom first hand. “At Dancing Grounds, I’m completely free. It’s that aspect of being able to truly find your love and your style. I can experiment with my dance…which is why I’ve stayed there for so many years.” Nowhere is this amplification of youth voices and creativity more apparent than in its teen-led initiative, the Dance for Social Change Festival, now entering its seventh year.

As Dancing Grounds approaches a decade of service, Stein and company reflect on its growth and that of dance as a whole in the post-Katrina city. From Bywater to this year’s festival performances at the Broadside, the nonprofit has been receiving acclaim within and even beyond New Orleans with Ya Heard Meh? receiving acceptance into the Rampenlicther Children’s Festival in Germany. “I think proud is a good word. Every year is another polished version of the previous year” says Caldwell.

“There’s so many new studio spaces that weren’t there when we first started. Now there’s this citywide entity that has New Orleans Dance Week, and it’s promoting dance in the city. It’s pretty amazing to see.”

This year’s Dance for Social Change Festival will be taking place from June 2-5 at the Broadsideand will feature additional performances by Big Freedia, the Original Pinettes Brass Band and DJ Webbie; buy tickets to the event here. To learn more about Dancing Grounds’ initiatives and events, visit their website here.