This Autism Acceptance Month, Adopt A Dancer

Adopt a dancer at Autistic Wings Dance Company, and help provide a lifetime of beauty and expression!

Autistic Wings Dance Company is exploding, and we need the community's help! We have gone from a mere eight classes last December, to thirty classes this spring. In September, we expect to have over 60 classes on the schedule! (With slots for over 100 dancers!) Plus, our long anticipated pre-professional program has finally lifted off and started to soar. While these changes are amazing, they cost a bit of money, and that's where we need your help.

Our classes are autistic-informed and autistic-led. Autistic Wings is a little different than most dance studios. We combine the best therapeutic practices with the best dance instruction for a unique way of teaching dance. Class sizes range from 1-4 dancers per class, with each dancer receiving an IEP. It's not cheap, but we have found it is the best way for our dancers to learn the complex techniques involved in learning dance.

We aren't just teaching "movement" or "creative dance". Autistic Wings teaches real dance with real skill sets to our dancers. (Though we have fun creative movement classes, too.) From the first time a dancer slips on their ballet slippers to those on pointe shoes, our dancers are learning the same things their neurotypical counterparts are learning. Just in a class designed for our dancers. But these classes aren't cheap.

100% of our dancers are on some form of scholarship, thanks to donors like you! Even with the help of a ton of volunteers, Autistic Wings classes cost $171 an hour to provide. With just two dancers per class, our "Dance with a Friend" babies' classes tuition would be $342 a month without the support of donors like you. For our Pre-Company dancers who are at the studio over twenty hours a week, classes run roughly $3400 a month per dancer. Your gift helps us continue to provide partial and full scholarships to every single dancer at Autistic Wings.

Adopt a dancer and help a child's family focus on the important things in life. Every donation helps us continue to provide scholarships to our families. Your gift today means a family will never have to decide between paying for dance classes and paying for therapy. Your gift means a member of the Golden Chrysalises can focus on achieving their dream without worrying about the financial stress it is causing their parents. Your gift means a parent can focus on watching their daughter slip on ballet shoes for the first time without worrying if it will be the last time. It's more than just $20. It's the seeds of a dream.

This April, your donation goes even further... Thanks to both Amazing Care Home Health and Leta's Tap Styles and My Autistic Life Podcast your gift will go just a bit further. Amazing Care is matching every gift this month, up to $100 per donor and $1500 overall. Leta's Tap Styles and My Autistic Life Podcast is donating $10 for each new donor we have!