The mission of the Movement Arts Collective is to “enhance the artistic landscape of the local and regional community through dance performance, education, and outreach, building both the artists and the audiences of the future.” Each of those three elements is distinct. The dance performance is realized primarily through the creation of a youth ballet company. Outreach will include doing workshops and performances in community settings (e.g., classrooms, senior centers, etc.) and inviting distinct groups, such as adults with Parkinson’s Disease, immunocompromised individuals and people requiring assistance to experience movement in a traditional dance studio setting. Education entails developing and implementing movement programs for schools and allowing us the ability to bring in world-class educators, such as Annabelle Lopez Ochoa to the SLO community.

We wanted a branded connection between the Movement Arts Center, which is our business, and the Movement Arts Collective, our 501c3 non-profit, but we know it might cause some confusion. We refer to the Movement Arts Center as either “SLOMAC” or “the Center.” We generally refer to the charitable organization as “the Collective.”

SLOMAC operates our movement classes out of our main studio facility at 2074 Parker Street in SLO. (Technically, it’s Suite 200.) For the Collective, we are renting a small administrative office in the same facility (Suite 118) for administrative purposes, however we will frequently (but not always) rent or use space from SLOMAC for classes and rehearsals. These synergies help us to make the most of limited resources as we can use our own SLOMAC facilities at a reduced or free rate for our Collective mission.

Most ballet companies are, in fact, operated as 501c3 non-profit organizations. That’s because the resources required to put on productions, to attract top-notch dancers, to pay for costumes, theater rentals or staging, far outweigh the funds raised through ticket sales. Members of the community who are passionate about fostering a strong arts community underwrite many of these costs through their generous donations. As a non-profit, we can serve new groups of people, families and individuals who might not otherwise have access to movement classes through either physical or financial hardship. Additionally, as a public charity are more easily be able to partner with other public charities to advance the arts, establish educational opportunities beyond the walls of the studio and subsidize experiences for both SLOMAC students and other members of the community.