Today we’d like to introduce you to Cherish Dance.
Hi Cherish, so excited to have you with us today. What can you tell us about your story?
Hi! Cherish Dance is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that is committed to bringing excellent dance training to the community and giving people a safe space to dance. We started out as a little dream by Rene Nesbit. Growing from 2021 to the present, we have flourished into a dance company that performs and creates on a regular basis. Cherish Dance provides free dance training, free performance opportunities, and all the tools necessary to shine. We work with a rotating cast, which means we can accommodate people’s productive and nuanced lives. You can work and play AND dance! When you come into the studio, you’ll immediately sense the warm and welcoming vibe of our classes. We carry this strong and open energy to our performances, most recently at ARTucker, Artz’N Park Festival, and NotATypical Festival.
Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way. Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?
Finding affordable rehearsal space was boulder number one! Fortunately, we were recommended to En Pointe School of Dance in Lilburn. With the help of their staff, we turned our rehearsal hopes into studio space realities. Having a weekly dance home really allowed our creativity to blossom.
Applying to grants was hurdle number two! If not for the superb writing skills (and tenacity!) of our Board of Directors this season, we would not have accomplished this crucial goal–applying to our first grant! Running a non-profit has bills, just like every operation, and the rehearsal space and costume expenses add up quickly. We are very happy that our newest project has found such a good fit for financial support, and we will hopefully have good news in the fall.
Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
Cherish Dance creates stories based on musical narrative and personal experience. With a Horton and Graham-based background in modern dance, our director Rene Nesbit can explore a wide range of themes through a variety of methods: movement and theater, body language and the use of space, and costuming and lighting choices. The performances we have delivered at festivals and events have been met with praise and encouragement. The most reported feedback? The expressivity of our dancers! By connecting with our audience on core issues such as love, loss, equality, and friendship, we aspire to remind our community of the courage and possibility within us all.
What sort of changes are you expecting over the next 5-10 years?
We are acutely aware of the shifting mindset of the government and the current administration’s lack of support for diversity and the arts. At Cherish Dance, we believe that all people are equal and deserve fair treatment. We do not tolerate bullying of any kind. To know that our political climate is one of adversity and hostility to these ideals means, to us, that we need to be ever more vigilant in our role as artists. We must be aware of the potential oppression of our art form and ever more responsible with the platforms that we use. At Cherish, we see collaboration as being a key element in all future projects. Only by working together and lifting each other up, will we make a difference in this tumultuous state of events.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.welcometocherish.org
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/cherish.dance/?hl=en
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/cherish.dance.family
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCSJbzZ0wdVXeLXPnwrErIlA
Image Credits
3rd photo : From our film project “Into the Realms,” PC : Meaghan Novoa
5th photo : From Fall for Fall Dance Festival 2023, PC : Nadya Zeitlin
8th photo : From Peace Day 2022, PC : Cody J. Jacques
