Axis Dance Company
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"Up" is the number of experts who agree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in the
field. "Down" is the number of experts who disagree that the nonprofit has had the most impact in field.
Headquarters Location: Oakland, CA
Founded: 1987
Mission: AXIS Dance Company's mission is to create and perform contemporary dance that is developed through the collaboration of dancers with and without disabilities; to teach dance and educate about collaboration and disability through community education and outreach programs; and to promote and support physically integrated dance locally, nationally and internationally.
Tags:
bay area, arts & culture, production, physically integrated dance, dance center, dance education, contemporary dance
Summary
Stories
Expert Reviews
Leadership
From the Nonprofit
Leadership
Judith Smith.
Judith Smith, Artistic Director, has earned an international reputation in the field of physically integrated dance. Judith is a founding member of AXIS and upon taking over artistic leadership of the company in 1997, began commissioning works by some of the nation’s best choreographers and launched Dance Access Community Education/Outreach Program. Prior to becoming disabled in a car accident at…
See full bio.
Financial Data
Overhead Ratio:
n/a
Total Revenue:
$463,442
From the Nonprofit
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Mollie McFarland
Development Manager Sep 20, 2010 |
Prepare to leave all your preconceptions at the door... AXIS Dance Company, one of the world’s most acclaimed and innovative ensembles of performers with and without disabilities, will change the way you think about dance and the possibilities of the…
Read More.
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Contact Info
Address:
1428 Alice St
Oakland, CA 94612, USA
Twitter:
Story:
Read about the story behind how a 16-year-old high school student who was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy has to say about her experience with AXIS Dance Company:
"My friends told me that there was a light radiating from me while I was dancing. I felt that light from within myself." Danielle recently performed in a piece entitled Light Shelter by acclaimed choreographer, David Dorfman with AXIS Dance Company in Oakland, California. "It involved a lot of improvisation which is my absolute favorite thing to do in the world. Dance is an outlet in a way for creativity more than anything else,” comments Danielle.
Danielle Fellguth is a 16-year-old high school sophomore attending a large public school in a suburb of San Francisco, California. She splits her time between her mom's home and her dad's home which are not too far away from each other and also has a large extended family. She has a full social life, community involvement, and loves clothes and music.
Danielle's parents adopted her when she was two months old. When she was seven months old, she was diagnosed with Cerebral Palsy. From that time on, her parents never stopped seeking creative alternatives to help her with movement. When Danielle was 10 years old, her mom heard about AXIS Dance Company, which includes dancers with and without disabilities. The company also sponsors classes for children and teens with and without disabilities. Danielle first attended the children's class and then quickly moved into the teen class for dancers aged 11-21. "I love AXIS, I love dance, music, beats, and everything the teen class encompasses."
Although Danielle uses a power wheelchair for school and a manual wheelchair for dancing and performing, she also enjoys dancing out of her chair, either on her knees or lying and moving on the floor. “In her dancing, Danielle has the quality of inner joy, radiance, creativity and a maturity well beyond her years,” comments Annika Nonhebel, Education Director for AXIS. “Danielle brings lots of love and energy and is a wonderful role model for other students in our class.”
Danielle's mother says "I am so proud of Danielle. When I see her on stage, she is remarkable. I love seeing her enjoy herself and being around all the AXIS people that she shares her life with. Danielle has great stage presence. She is the best thing that ever happened to me in my whole entire life. 36 was my best year because Danielle came into my life. I waited a long time and it was worth the wait."
With a serious focus on goals, Danielle has her life mapped out until she is 22 or so. "I want to go to law school and become a Disability Advocate. I am already doing that and I am also a self–advocate, meaning that I speak up for myself and I say when things are not okay. My mom has been the best role model in that way because she's always advocating for me. I am very opinionated. My friends will tell you that."
(Read more about this story at: http://www.axisdance.org/about_news_0410.php#Danielle)
Expert Reviews of Axis Dance Company
Evidence of Impact Summary:
Axis includes a community (disabled) that is often marginalized from the performing arts because of facilities limitations and preconceptions about the disabled. Axis changes performers, presenters, and audiences by requiring equal treatment, including critical judgment. This is not "charitable" inclusion; it's inclusion that results in greater unique creativity. The vocabulary of dance and partnering are forever changed. Exploring the human condition--struggles and triumphs--are often at the heart of artistic work. Axis is fearless in showing both awe-inspiring strength and heart-wrenching vulnerability.See expert comments.
Organization Strengths Summary:
Experts praise Axis Dance Company for their visionary leader who continues to push the organization forward and manages their finances responsibly. Their programming is innovative and unique, and they have thoughtful and dedicated board and staff.See expert comments.
Areas for Improvement Summary:
Some experts think Axis could improve if it tried to cultivate more major donors. Axis might also think carefully about sustainability beyond the tenure of the founder and prioritize/evaluate its various activities: travel/touring, education programs, etc. One expert also felt Axis could do more to collaborate with ethnic-specific communities.See expert comments.
Expert Comments: Evidence of Impact
Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.
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Show:
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Foundation Professionals (F)
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Researchers and Faculty (R)
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Impact |
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This is a nationally recognized dance company promoting dance that integrates dancers with and without disabilities HERE in Oakland! | ||
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Their dedication to presenting dance utilizing dancers with disabilities is truly inspirational. They create powerful pieces that remind us that we all can dance. | ||
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Axis Dance Company produces high quality dance productions that are accessible and innovative. They engage dancers with and without disabilities. | ||
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Axis's work is performed by differently-abled dancers. As a result, the company consistently creates exciting, interesting, new work that also breaks some unspoken taboos about physical disability in American culture. | ||
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By definition, Axis includes a community (disabled) that is often marginalized from the performing arts because older facilities include physical constraints and preconceptions exclude considering participation. Axis changes performers, presenters, and audiences by requiring equal treatment, including critical judgment. This is not "charitable" inclusion; it's inclusion that results in greater (and the increasingly rare) unique creativity. The vocabulary of dance and partnering are forever changed. Exploring the human condition--struggles and triumphs--are often at the heart of artistic work. Axis is fearless in showing both awe-inspiring strength and heart-wrenching vulnerability. They are what we want our world to be. | ||
Expert Comments: Organization Strengths
Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.
Show:
Show:
X
Foundation Professionals (F)
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Researchers and Faculty (R)
X
Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
X
Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Great Artistry |
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This organization is stronger artistically because they commission external choreographers. | ||
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They have great artistry. | ||
Innovative Programming |
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They have very unique offerings. Their new administrator, Molly, is particularly strong and their marketing is very good. | ||
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Innovation in choreography and their efforts in arts education make their work not only interesting on stage, but also deeply powerful at the community level. | ||
Visionary Leader and Thoughtful Staff |
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The staff and board are very dedicated. | ||
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They have a strong and thoughtful staff leadership team. Axis Dance Company is very collaborative and produces high quality work. | ||
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Judy Smith and her team keep a tight eye on finances without over constraining opportunity. It is Judy's vision and perspective of the entire field of dance that has propelled the organization ever forward artistically. Although the mix of able and disabled dancers attracts attention, the work they create is what is truly extraordinary. Their repertoire can compete with any dance company for quality and power. | ||
Good Staff and Financial Management |
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They have strong staff and good financial management (I know this because I was on the Board for years). They are very ambitious artistically and programmatically, with, for example, a strong touring program. | ||
Stable Organization |
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One of their strengths is their visibility to dancers with various abilities. They started when no one was thinking about dancers with disabilities--so they have longevity in this field. They have worked hard to build stability within their organization and focus their priorities. | ||
Expert Comments: Areas for Improvement
Select the boxes to display the results according to expert type.
Show:
Show:
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Foundation Professionals (F)
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Researchers and Faculty (R)
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Nonprofit Senior Staff (N)
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Other (consultants, journalists, policy makers) (O)
Develop New Leadership |
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They need to develop their brand more, develop a succession plan (both artistic and administrative), and they need a stronger board of directors. | ||
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It would be good for them to have some support to develop leadership so they sustain the organization beyond the founder's tenure. | ||
Prioritize and Think Sustainability |
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They need to think about sustainability beyond the tenure of the founder. They have worked hard to improve their education department and partner with other organizations--they need to keep that up. They should prioritize what is important to them: is touring so much limiting who they attract? Is it burning their dancers out? Is it helping attract new members/audiences? Are there other ways they can make money? | ||
Collaborate More |
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I would like to see more collaboration in connection to ethnic-specific communities. | ||
Be More Focused on Education Work |
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I think that their education work could be a bit more targeted and focused. | ||
Need to Cultivate More Major Donors |
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O
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Like many smaller organizations, Axis has yet to connect with the major donor tier that exists in the Bay Area. They need more $1,000+ donors to increase performances (reach) and create more new work. While a dancer in a wheelchair is amazing and attracting, it can also pigeonhole perceptions and expectations of the company. To see them is to be converted, but they need to figure out how to get the high-end audience to buy a ticket and have the experience. I think they need to do a few years of performances at the San Francisco Jewish Community Center--the Oakland theater is a little scrungy for the diamonds/tuxedo crowd. | ||
Leadership
Judith Smith
Artistic Director
Artistic Director
From the Nonprofit
|
Mollie McFarland
Development Manager Sep 20, 2010 |
Prepare to leave all your preconceptions at the door...
AXIS Dance Company, one of the world’s most acclaimed and innovative ensembles of performers with and without disabilities, will change the way you think about dance and the possibilities of the human body forever. Founded in 1987, AXIS has become a jewel of contemporary dance and disability culture. AXIS has paved the way for a powerful contemporary dance form - physically integrated dance- performing nationwide, as well as in Europe and Siberia.
Under the Artistic Direction of Judith Smith, the Company’s list of collaborators read like a Who’s Who of contemporary dance. AXIS has received seven Isadora Duncan Dance Awards and has been featured on KQED’s Spark in 2004, KRCB’s One in 5 Stories, WNET’s nationally-broadcast People In Motion.
Through its model education programs Dance Access and its youth component Dance Access/KIDS! AXIS offers classes and workshops for adults and youth of all abilities, school assemblies, presentations, lecture demonstrations and residencies locally and abroad.
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