Dance For All - new dance centre

A major development for Dance for All (DFA) this year, and one that is proof of the organisation's success and sustainability, is that the Ackerman Family Foundation recently purchased a building in Athlone to be utilised by DFA as a dance centre. After 15 years of teaching dance in previously disadvantaged areas of Cape Town,this marks a new era in DFA's growth and with a permanent premises from which to work, DFA looks forward to fulfilling many other long-term goals and visions.

Renovating the two-storey building into dance studios and office space is due to begin. Completion is anticipated for October 2006 and DFA's patron Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu will officially open the new centre. Until that time DFA is operating from temporary offices in Kenilworth.

The new DFA Dance Centre will:
- Serve as a base for all administrative operations
- House the DFA Youth Company (for training, rehearsals, workshops and presentations)
- Allow DFA to extend its Junior and Senior Training Programmes
- Be the venue for summer and winter holiday schools for DFA's Outreach Programme
- Serve as a rehearsal and presentation space for the entire DFA programme
- Open up DFA's service to the wider community by offering dance classes and workshops to the public, which will assist in generating an income for DFA.

DFA's programme will not become centralised with the establishment of this dance centre, the Outreach Programme of daily dance classes will also continue to take place in the current locations in Gugulethu, Nyanga and Khayelitsha and the rural town of Barrydale and its surrounding farm areas.

Design of the DFA Dance Centre
The two-storey building in Aden Road will include:
- 3 dance studios
- 5 offices
- A kitchen/canteen
- An extensive wardrobe
- A boardroom
- A gymnasium
- Dressing rooms

Income generation

The centre will also allow DFA to generate income through the hiring of studio space, hiring of costumes from the Wardrobe and the sale of food and drinks from the Canteen. Income made will go towards the running costs of the dance centre and funding of DFA's other projects.

Open classes for the public

DFA is going to assess the public interest in various dance styles, but at this stage the proposed classes are:
- Hip Hop
- Jazz
- Salsa
- African
- Contemporary
- Pilates
- Ballroom

Performances at the DFA Dance Centre

DFA intends to install retractable seating in Studio 2 for in-house performances and showcases. We would like to bus parents of the Outreach Programme students in for end-of-term presentations (so as to offer more than just the end-of-year performances). This would give the parents an opportunity to see what the children learn throughout the year and how they progress.

The Athlone area

Athlone is an area subject to crime, drugs, gangs and violence. The DFA Dance Centre will be able to offer positive activities for the young people in this area, not previously part of the DFA programme.