Let's Keep RDC Dancing!

When I think of people and things that have made the past fourteen months of this pandemic survivable for me and for my family, Rainier Dance Center is pretty close to the top of the list. It was March 11, 2020, when Seattle Public Schools closed in-person schools for what would be the remainder of the 2019-2020 school year and much of our world shut down within that same week. One week later, on March 18, Jenna posted a video of herself dancing outside with an upbeat, “We’re in this together” message and the hashtag #RDCKeepsDancing. And RDC kept dancing. Classes pivoted quickly to zoom for the most experienced dancers and recorded videos for younger classes and then to all zoom for all classes. RDC kept dancing. I know that zoom dance classes didn’t work for everyone, but having the same dance schedule and regular zoom dance team meetings gave my dancers, and thus our household, some degree of normalcy and contact with their community. All of a sudden, I could listen in on every dance class – I didn’t have much choice – and every teacher every class not only kept these dancers dancing, they also communicated love and care for the dancers. Throughout the spring, the summer, the fall, the winter, another spring, and changing guidelines for what kind of in-person activities were allowed and how many people if any could be in a dance studio, RDC kept dancing.

Now RDC needs our help.

Rainier Dance Center has managed to survive the pandemic for the last fourteen months with little financial assistance. Even with things looking brighter ahead, they are struggling now, more than ever. They have applied for every grant and federal loan they can in the past year and, unfortunately, were only awarded one small PPP loan (20% of what they actually needed) back in April of 2020. 

RDC relies solely on enrollment and monthly tuition to survive and in the last year their enrollment has dropped by 50%. Throughout this time, they have been unable to pay their full rent at either studio. They have cut back where they could and have gotten creative in finding solutions to stay in business and to continue to pay employees including exhausting all the personal resources they have (savings, credit cards, etc.), but they need help.

With more people getting vaccinated and COVID-19 restrictions lessening, there is a light at the end of the tunnel for so many of us, but if the rent moratorium expires in June, as is expected, and if enrollment stays low this summer due to families choosing travel and outdoor activities, there is a chance RDC will not survive the summer.

With the funds raised here, RDC will be able to guarantee their skilled and talented staff contracted hours through the summer, regardless of enrollment. They will be able to pay back some or all the back rent they owe from the past year which will let them hold on to Studio B for the next school year when it will be needed as RDC rebuilds.

We know the last fourteen months has been tough for everyone, but if you can spare a little or share this with people you know and/or who may have been impacted by Jenna, RDC, and the amazing staff and want to help, we would greatly appreciate it. 

RDC tried hard to survive the pandemic on their own, but the time has come when they need to call on their community for help. RDC wants to be able to continue bringing nurturing, quality dance education to the south end for many, many more years to come, and your assistance will help make sure this can happen. Let’s make sure RDC keeps dancing for our kids and others well into the future.