Programs

The D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts is an organization with the mission of broadening the horizons of inner city youth by means of the Arts.The D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts focuses on providing quality performing arts instruction to the underserved and lower income communities and families of Tacoma and Pierce County. The D.A.S.H. Center also has the mission of bringing quality Arts programs and performances to underserved communities within Tacoma and Pierce County, and providing access to the works of under-appreciated African American or other minority artists.

The D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts is a home for people to develop natural talent and acquire the skills necessary for a career in the performing arts.The goal of the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts is to provide training in all aspects of the performing arts.

D.A.S.H is an acronym for Dancing, Acting, and Singing inHarmony. The D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts is a non-profit organization that offers the opportunity to develop performing talents in a welcoming, reasonably priced environment. The D.A.S.H. Center celebrates cultural diversity.  While the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts is available to and welcomes persons of all walks of life, its primary targets are black and other minority, inner city youth, who otherwise, would have less opportunity to explore and develop their creative abilities.

In under-privileged communities there tends to be a drive for many to “get out”. There are different avenues used to do so.  In Tacoma, the main avenue promoted to our kids is athletics. Basketball, football, and baseball are looked at as the “save-all” for our inner city youth. But what hope do we offer the youth who are not athletic? What about those who are artistic?

Artistic youth are many times looked upon as “different”.  Unless introduced, many youth, black youth especially, don’t realize their difference is an artistic talent.  Since beginning our programs, many youth who seemed lost, even acting out in school, have found a unique way to confront their feelings, approach their issues, and communicate these constructively.  The Arts help build self-esteem, self-confidence, and self-worth.  These are the characteristics one needs to “get out”.  By helping to build these characteristics in our underprivileged youth, as well as the knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of other persons and cultures, the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts helps prepare these youth to make waves in our society.

In addition to weekly dance classes, the D.A.S.H. Center for the Arts currently offers four exciting programs to Tacoma youth, Reality Check Dance Troupes & Youth Outreach Organizations, Teen Fall Musical, Club FAME, and The SCORE Board.   Each of these programs involves talented minority youth from the Tacoma and Pierce County community.  Participating in these programs allows youth the opportunity to explore the Arts in a number of different capacities including, dance performance, choreography, songwriting and recording, musical score development, acting, singing, and technical direction of a stage play.  These programs expose the community to the talents and works of these young people.

The D.A.S.H. Center offers everything necessary to explore a career in the arts.  In the field of dance, the following classes are offered:

The following classes will be added in the near future:

In the field of acting, the following classes will be offered:

In the field of voice, the following classes will be offered: