The Gabriella Foundation Information

The Gabriella Foundation, through its program, everybody dance!, provides high-quality dance instruction at little or no cost to ethnically diverse, economically disadvantaged children in Los Angeles. The Gabriella Foundation was established in memory of Gabriella Axelrad, a 13−year−old who loved to dance. everybody dance! opened its doors in May 2000, in a low-income housing project just west of downtown Los Angeles. The program started with 35 students in 12 weekly classes. Demand for the classes grew quickly and additional instructors were added to accommodate the rush of young applicants. Currently everybody dance! provides 231 classes in ballet, pre-ballet, tap, modern, jazz, choreography, hip-hop and theater dance to nearly 2000 students. Instructors teach during the school day at Gabriella Charter School (GCS) and Camino Nuevo Charter Academy (CNCA). The remaining classes are held during after-school hours and on Saturdays. Due in part to the program’s rigorous approach and high student expectations, everybody dance! students are winning awards, matriculating to competitive arts-focused high schools and participating in summer programs with professional dance companies. A few of the most advanced alumni are using their training to join international dance companies. The Foundation opened Gabriella Charter School (GCS) in 2005 to provide an academic option that would hold inner-city students to the same rigor and high expectations exemplified by everybody dance!. GCS began with 100 students in a building adjacent to the low-income project where everybody dance! had started five years earlier. GCS quickly developed a track record of high student achievement and strong parent participation. In 2013, GCS tested over the State API target of 800 for the eighth year in a row at 892 - all the more remarkable given that 88% of the School's enrollment was considered socio-economically disadvantaged and one-third of the students were English language learners.