Join us in championing the transformative impact of dance on children's lives with Celebrate the Beat! Your support is crucial to our mission of building strength and confidence in CTB students, positively influencing their daily experiences. Together, we are actively shaping the lives of Colorado's youth, and we invite you to be a valued participant in this joyous celebration. Your contribution can make a measurable and lasting difference in the lives of these young individuals.
A teacher and his 5th graders at Dupont Elementary speak about CTB
"As an educator, I often reflect and look back on lessons that I teach. Rarely do I reflect on the bigger picture of things. After watching current and former students perform and dance with CTB in front of jam-packed theaters for 4 years, it reminds me why I began and continue to work with kids. These students have done something many people could never imagine doing in the lifetimes. Many of these same kids have been told that they are behind academically their entire learning career due to a magnitude of factors. After tonight, I know for a fact that in the world of proficiency and state tests, that proficiency will never be better than self belief, courage, and hard work." - Dupont 5th grade teacher, Judd Stutzman
"I learned to never give up and keep on dancing! I also learned to pay attention, and you'll go to success. One highlight of CTB was performing in front of people. I wish I had CTB for the rest of my life."- Nadine
"I was very nervous for Coco to be successful during CTB. She is very sensitive to activities that involve lots of sensory stimulation, especially loud noise and what looks like chaos, even though it may be just the opposite. Coco thrived in CTB. Her participation gave her confidence to be in a situation that would normally be highly stressful for her. Coco was able to participate enthusiastically in both practices and the final show. Her comfort zone was definitely pushed, but she was very proud that she was able to be so successful in a situation that would normally be incredibly uncomfortable for her. I think pushing Coco out of her comfort zone in such a safe environment, with incredible support from both instructors, made an amazing difference in Coco's life. It gave her confidence in an area that used to intimidate her. Thank you for bringing such an amazing program into our school!"
CAROLINE SOUTER, Red Sandstone Elementary School, 3rd Grade Teacher
"I learned to have a passion for music and dance. I know now what I want to do when I grow up. I want to be a dance teacher!"- Jazmin
"I learned how to say focused and cooperate with one another."- Axel
"I learned that working together is more fun than working alone." - Ashlyn
"I learned you need to accept yourself and don't compare yourself to another student." - Jadeen
"I learned to be strong and to never give up." - Karen
"The more you practice, the better you get at doing what you thought was hard." - Eduardo
"I can now face my fears." - Javier
"You taught me to have courage." - Anthony
"I learned to have stronger leadership skills, and learned teamwork. I absolutely cherished the performance in my heart.' - Baruch
"I learned to never give up, try your hardest, and not to be shy." - Shaina
"I wanted to thank you for training us for the amazing show! What I really learned, is that you have to train really hard to accomplish something amazing….and you can do anything if you take your time." - Amanda
"This year I learned that you should never give up and to have patience. I loved the show, it was amazing. The moment the changed my life, was when Celebrate the Beat became my life." - Jonathan
"I learned that working together can help you accomplish anything." - Breann
Celebrate the Beat (CTB) provides in-school and after-school dance programs that improve childrens’ physical health and well-being, inspire them to believe in themselves, and establishes a standard of excellence that positively impacts every aspect of their lives. For youth-at-risk who have little access to a high-quality arts education, CTB’s dance curriculum can be life-changing, teaching them not just the art of dance, but the art of the possible.
In 2000, Tracy Straus, a Tony Award winner and Artistic Associate at National Dance Institute (NDI) in New York, founded Celebrate the Beat (CTB). Ms. Straus had the dream of bringing arts education to under served schools of Colorado. She began with 120 school children from four different schools in Colorado as an outreach program for the Aspen-Santa Fe Ballet. In 2004 Ms. Straus established CTB as an independent nonprofit company closely affiliated with NDI as an associate organization. Ms. Straus' work with NDI and its founder, Jacques d'Amboise, prepared her to grow a teaching organization that brought the arts directly into schools that were willing to integrate dance into the curriculum and include all children, not just a select few. By 2017, in close collaboration with teachers and school officials, CTB grew to successfully bring its program to over 4,000 children annually in several Colorado counties, summer programs in each of those areas as well, and numerous schools in Nayarit, Mexico.
CTB has collaborated with individuals such as cellist Yo Yo Ma, former NYC principal ballet dancers Damian Woetzel and Heather Watts, and current NYC ballet star Misty Copeland. CTB has also partnered with organizations like the Vail International Dance Festival, the Aspen Ideas Festival, the Colorado Legacy Foundation and the Healthy Schools Summit, the Colorado Association of School Executives, and the Crested Butte Music Festival. In 2013 and 2016 Celebrate the Beat students from the Adams 14 school district were invited to perform for the Colorado Education Initiative's Healthy Schools Summit, demonstrating our successful program to over 800 of Colorado's leading educators, including the Lieutenant Governor of Colorado.
Organization name
Celebrate the Beat
other names
CTB
2004
Tax id (EIN)
20-0670553
Category
Education
Organization Size
Medium Organization
Address
2949 Federal Blvd Suite 102Mailing
PO Box 480Denver County, CO, US