Chicago Movement Collective Inc

CHICAGO MOVEMENT COLLECTIVE (CMC) AND THE CLAIRE BATAILLE LEGACY PROGRAM (CBLP): IN SPRING OF 2020, CHICAGO WITNESSED THE CLOSING OF THE LOU CONTE DANCE STUDIO, HOME TO MANY WELL-KNOWN INSTRUCTORS AND LIKEWISE MANY ASPIRING YOUNG DANCERS. ALMOST IMMEDIATELY, A CONVERSATION BEGAN AROUND CREATING A NEW HOME FOR HIGH LEVEL DANCE TRAININGAND THUS CHICAGO MOVEMENT COLLECTIVE WAS FORMED TO FILL THIS NEED. CMC HELD ITS FIRST IN-PERSON DANCE CLASSES ON SEPTEMBER 8TH, 2020, GIVING WORK TO TEACHERS THAT WERE DISPLACED, AND A SENSE OF COMMUNITY TO DANCERS WHO HAD BEEN SHELTERING IN PLACE. GEOGRAPHIC ACCESSIBILITY WAS ONE OF OUR TOP PRIORITIES; WE CHOSE LOCATIONS BASED ON PROXIMITY TO PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION WITH CONSIDERATION TO ACCESS TO INEXPENSIVE OR FREE PARKING. OUR FIRST CLASSES WERE OFFERED AT THE AMERICAN RHYTHM CENTER IN THE HEART OF DOWNTOWN CHICAGO. 6 MONTHS LATER, WE MOVED OUR OPERATIONS TO INTRIGUE DANCE AND PERFORMING ARTS AS WELL AS CHICAGO MULTI-CULTURAL DANCE CENTER, BOTH LOCATED IN THE SOUTH LOOP. FROM THERE, WE HAVE BRANCHED A LITTLE FURTHER NORTH AND WEST TO OFFER CLASSES OUT OF THE PRESTIGIOUS CHICAGO ACADEMY FOR THE ARTS. WE PARTNERED WITH ROOSEVELT UNIVERSITY IN 2021, DIVERSIFYING THE DANCE STYLES AND DIALECTS TYPICALLY FOUND IN THEIR CURRICULUM. CMC OFFERS COMPETITIVE PAY TO INSTRUCTORS AND ITS CLASS FEES ARE AMONG THE LOWEST OF OPEN DANCE STUDIOS IN THE CITY. CMC IS OPEN TO ALL DANCERS AGES 16 AND UP. THE COST FOR A DROP IN CLASS AT CMC IS AT LEAST $5 LESS EXPENSIVE THAN COMPARABLE DANCE STUDIOS OFFERINGS. IN 2023, WE EMPLOYED 14 PEOPLE, OFFERED 832 CLASSES, AND HAD 2,912 ATTEND A CLASS. THE CBLP WAS FOUNDED THE SAME DAY AS CMC. FOR THE DANCERS IN OUR CLAIRE BATAILLE LEGACY PROGRAM, THEY ARE REQUIRED TO ATTEND AT LEAST 8 DANCE CLASSES PER WEEK. THEY ARE ALSO GIVEN ACCESS TO A MENTAL HEALTH/SPORTS MEDICINE SPECIALIST, AS WELL AS STUDIO SPACE TO HONE THEIR CHOREOGRAPHIC SKILLS AND EVENTUALLY PRESENT THEIR WORK ON STAGE/IN STUDIO. IN ADDITION TO THE MORE RIGOROUS CURRICULUM OF THE CBLP, WE ALSO OFFER WEEKEND CLASSES ON A MORE INTRODUCTORY LEVEL, BRINGING ACCESS AND A WELCOMING ATMOSPHERE TO A LARGER POPULATION OF DANCERS AND DANCE ENTHUSIASTS. MANY TRAINING PROGRAMS SIMILAR TO THE CLAIRE BATAILLE LEGACY PROGRAM COST UP TO $10,000 A YEAR, A MODEL THAT ONLY SUPPORTS MORE PRIVILEGED, AFFLUENT DANCERS RECEIVING TOP TIER TRAINING. OUR PROGRAM OFFERS THE SAME BENEFITS, BUT FOR $2,000 A YEAR. IN CHICAGO, LOCATION IS A BIG OBSTACLE FOR DIFFERENT SOCIOECONOMIC GROUPS. THE MAJORITY OF DANCE STUDIOS SIMILAR TO OURS ALL OPERATE ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE OF CHICAGO; A NEIGHBORHOOD SATURATED BY WHITE, MID-UPPER CLASS POPULATIONS. BEING MOSTLY IN THE SOUTH LOOP, WE GIVE ACCESS TO DANCERS COMING FROM CHICAGO'S SOUTH SIDE, WHO TYPICALLY HAVE A VERY DIFFICULT TIME GETTING UP TO THE STUDIOS ON THE NORTHWEST SIDE. REPRESENTATION MATTERS, AND OUR FACULTY REPRESENTS PEOPLE OF VARYING RACE, CLASS, ABILITY, GENDER EXPRESSION, AND SEXUAL ORIENTATION. IT COSTS CMC $104/WEEK, PER DANCER TO SUBSIDIZE THE COST OF THEIR TRAINING.