Dance Dance Revolution Nonprofit Turns Poor Kids into Coeds SHERRI CRUZ Monday, November 9, 2009 It was

20 years ago when Richard Hunsakers wife, Virginia, dragged him to the ballet. The ballet? I dont think so, he told his wife. Hunsaker, president of Irvine-based real estate management and development company Hunsaker Management Inc., admittedly isnt a dance person. But in the past 20 years hes become an avid backer of a Santa Ana after-school dance program for needy kids known as The Wooden Floor, formerly Saint Joseph Ballet. I subsequently found out it was more than just a ballet, Hunsaker said. Most of the 400 kids in Wooden Floors program are Hispanic. Many have immigrant parents. Their homes typically have five family members with an annual household income of about $30,000. Professional choreographers teach the kids to dance. They perform annually at the Irvine Barclay Theatre. But its about more than dancethe goal is to teach kids life skills such as poise and self-esteem.

They learn they can do things, Hunsaker said. The kids also get tutoring, college preparation and family counseling if needed. The group began 26 years ago with the humble goal of keeping kids off the streets and away from drugs, violence and teen pregnancy. It now seeks to usher kids into college. A Wooden Floor staffer works with students and families on college applications, including test preparation and filing for financial aid. Since 1998, all of the groups students have graduated high school. Since 2005, all high school seniors have enrolled in college. The most recent graduating class had 21 seniors, all of whom went off to college. The students often are the first ones in their families to go to college. Some of the schools the kids attend include the University of California, Berkeley, Wellesley College in Massachusetts, Boston College, New York University, Chapman University in Orange and Concordia University in Irvine. Wooden Floor helps pay for their tuition with $4,000 to $10,000 in scholarships. Chapman and Concordia also offer money to

kids in the program. Hunsaker set up a scholarship for graduating high schoolers who attend his alma mater, the University of Redlands. Like the Hunsakers, several of the board members have longterm ties to the group. Many are pillars of the organization, said Melanie Rios Glaser, Wooden Floors executive and artistic director. The board has helped define and grow the group, she said. Wooden Floor has the support of several husband and wife teams, with either one or both spouses serving on the board. They include Catherine MacIver, senior vice president of Bank of America Insurance Services Group, and her husband, Jim Slaughter, a lawyer with Newport Beachs Slaughter & Slaughter LLP. Hunsakers wife also is a board member. She helped start a tutoring program. Many board members have been with the group long enough to know founder Beth Burns. Burns, a former nun with a love of dance, opened a small studio called Saint Joseph Ballet 26 years ago in Santa Anas Fiesta Marketplace on Fourth Street, where kids came to dance and get help with homework.

The goal was to keep kids off the streets and in school. In 1999, the studio moved to a larger space on Main Street, where it laid down a professional wooden dance floor and eventually became known as Wooden Floor. Burns still is on the board. Shes no longer involved in day-today operations. The program, which teaches contemporary dance, requires a long-term commitment. Students range from ages 8 to18 with one boy for every three girls. Some stay as late as 8:30 p.m. This is their second home, Rios Glaser said. Kids dont need any prior dance experience. They only need to be from low-income families and have the ability to move, she said. Glaser, whos from Guatemala, graduated from The Juilliard School in New York and was an improvisational dancer and a choreographer in Europe and Central America. Wooden Floor employs about 17 people, including dance teachers, tutors and musical accompanists. The group doesnt drill college into the kids heads, according to Glaser. That just happens naturally, she said. The first intent is to

develop a love of dance, a love of arts and the transformation happens from there. Wooden Floor Chair Damien Jordan, senior vice president and general manager at the Irvine campus of Los Angeles-based Capital Group Cos., and wife Yvonne Jordan mentored a dancer since sixth grade. We showed interest, Damien Jordan said. Now shes at Boston College. Shes studying psychology and is involved in the schools dance program. Corporate Support Motivating kids to go to college is what draws support for Wooden Floor, Bank of Americas MacIver said. Bank of America recently awarded Wooden Floor a $200,000 grant. The nonprofits yearly budget is $2.1 million. The group once was funded by founder Burns Sisters of St. Joseph of Orange, which also started hospital operator St. Joseph Health System in Orange. Now nearly all funding comes from donations. Boeing Co. has been a 20-year sponsor. Fernando Vivanco, a Boeing spokesman in Seal Beach, serves on the board.

I was interested in an organization that my wife would be able to rally around as well, he said. Vivanco encouraged the groups recent name change. The old name, Saint Joseph Ballet, was a stumbling block when trying to explain what the group does. First off, the students dont do ballet, he said. There are no tutus. Second, the group no longer is tied to a religious organization. But the name change didnt slow demand. Recently, 285 kids auditioned, but only about 100 could be accepted. The hope is to expand, according to Glaser. Its in our DNA to dream big, she said.