Boogiezone Beyond - Our Moment Of Truth

UNWAVERING COMMUNITY VISION

 

Boogiezone is a movement and an idea that has grown and evolved into many opportunities that have allowed and encouraged thousands upon thousands of dancers to pursue their dreams unapologetically and powerfully. Since 2001, Boogiezone has supported others in discovering their passion for the arts, serving as a platform for communication and a way for artists to support and inspire one another across the globe. Boogiezone indeed helps bridge dreams to reality.

 

Eager to emerge with resilience from the pandemic, we are more than ready to respond to our true calling — to go beyond dance and expand our vision by offering other disciplines like music, theater, martial and healing arts. In May of 2021, we transformed what was Boogiezone and launched Epicenter Arts + Entertainment. Our ultimate vision is to continue down the path of opening our doors to all creatives established by Boogiezone in hopes of stimulating the mind, body, and spirit while reaching artistic potential through creative exchange. Guided by our collaborative spirit and artistic roots, Boogiezone will forever remain the beating heart of our creative sanctuary that has given us the vitality needed up until now to withstand the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic.

 

OUR PASSIONATE JOURNEY

 

We have transformed our 14K sq. ft. two-story building in old town Torrance, CA, into a safe haven for creative artists worldwide. Surprisingly we have done this with little to no resources other than our passion and love for the community, countless caring volunteers, and perseverance! For ten years now, we have put our best efforts forward to understand how to sustain a viable dance studio business and are truly humbled and blessed to have such an immense space to call our home.

 

Culminating in March of 2018, we endured several unfortunate circumstances that made our studio's journey exponentially more difficult. Jolted by the fear of losing our space, we humbled ourselves and asked for help from our dance network. For those who have remained loyal to our fight, you may recall that in August 2018, we received a formal 3-day notice to either pay $30,000 of missing/late payments owed to the building owner or be forced to vacate.

 

Thanks to our wonderful, supportive and creative community, we experienced a very eye-opening thing - we were REMINDED of how much we were loved. In just a few short days after the release of our announcement, we received 428 donations and reached our goal and raised $30,543 OF $30,000! This is the best lesson this circumstance could ever teach us, and from that point on, we were dedicated to shoring up the inner workings of the business to build a more stable future.

 

During this time, we recommitted ourselves not to give up and sought the help of expert advisors/professionals. We were blessed to have another opportunity to understand how important it was to adequately sustain and run a business to thrive for our dancers and, ultimately, our ultimate purpose and calling. Thank you again to the Boogiezone global community for showing us that we made a difference and have changed many lives. Because of you, we arrived at yet another critical junction in our history as a brand!

 

THE SAGA CONTINUES

 

With renewed purpose, from January to March 2020, we experienced rapid growth and transformed our struggling business into a beautiful system of teachers, staff, partners and students. We were a family and loved everything about where we were heading. Financially, we were at our most stable and growing comfortably. It finally felt like we were gaining ground on ourselves.

 

This period was short-lived when the Covid-19 pandemic shut-downs began in March 2020. The entire world came to a grinding halt, and so did all of the physical energy swirling around us. Just when we thought we were making progress, our new way of doing things had to be put on pause. We were sad to see so many of our community friends who owned creative facilities and dance studios shut down one by one. We understood how this could happen, and it has been gut-wrenching to witness. Not even a fundraiser or a PPP loan could save us! The pandemic and the inevitable financial burden that would ensue would have been way too much for any business to bear. Those who were logical and smart made the difficult decision to close and count their losses as a blessing. It was so challenging to see how the pandemic affected our community - we were at a crossroads. Should we fight to stay open once more? At what cost?

 

Today April 05, 2022, almost exactly two years since we closed and only eight months since we reopened, we remain as optimistic and grateful as ever - our community is still here encouraging us! Working harder than ever to keep the dream alive! As difficult as it was to continue onward in the face of the adversities of the pandemic - we decided to press forward, unwavering in our mission to remain a beacon of inspiration for our community. Although after many attempts, we were not able to successfully unlock any government support or disaster relief. We held onto the belief that the accruing backpay of rent owed to our landlord would serve as an investment. Hence, here we are now.

 

THE MOMENT OF TRUTH

 

In true Boogiezone fashion, I am coming to you as a community builder and collaborator. What you choose to do now will help dictate our next step. If Boogiezone has inspired you or someone you love, provided a safe space for you to explore your creativity, or enabled you to pursue your purpose with confidence, I’m asking for your support.  We would like to renew our lease for another term. Please help us stay in our incredible space. Your action today, will make all the difference for us and help us make our future here a possibility. I get that this is a gigantic request, but I believe my message will reach the right hearts in some way or another.  Help us sustain and strengthen our beautiful platform that is Boogiezone Epicenter and help us evolve it into its next great version to secure it for future generations to come! As we have done for countless artists, we need your help to make Epicenter Arts + Entertainment bridge its own dreams into reality.

WHO AM I?

HI my name is Elm Pizarro, I am 48 years old, born in Seattle and currently living in Long Beach California. I am an artist in every sense of the word. A designer, a dancer, choreographer, director, producer, educator, innovator, entrepreneur, and creator. Ultimately, I am driven by my passion for community building and my love for dance. I left a stable career in architecture to pursue an endeavor I felt would be more impactful. No regrets. Since 2003, I have worked relentlessly to serve my purpose in helping others bridge their dreams to reality by creating a virtual and physical platform of inspiration known globally as “Boogiezone.”

WHO AM I?  www.elmboogie.com

 

FOR MORE INFORMATION

 

Want to learn more about us? Visit our website at www.epicenterarts.com or check out our Instagram social: @EpicenterArtsEntertainment. Thanks for your support. We love you and are super grateful!

 

WATCH THE CAMPAIGN VIDEO

 

https://youtu.be/iH4dPFJHhro

 

DONATE NOW!

 

www.gofundme.com/boogiezonebeyond