Mission

Musicopia Dance’s mission is to foster self–esteem, social awareness, mutual respect, teamwork and joy in young people and their communities through social dance education and performance.

Values

Musicopia Dance and partner organization Musicopia’s shared vision is to use the power of the Arts to transform the lives of ALL children and youth. This will be guided and informed by our belief in and commitment to our values, which are to:

• Provide pathways to the arts for the students we serve
• Inspire learning through the arts
• Champion cultural and human diversity
• Promote the development of self–efficacy
• Create environments of mutual respect, well–being, and belonging
• Support students in finding safe spaces for self–expression
• Enrich the communities in which our students live and thrive

Milestones

Read more about our reach last school year.

• Musicopia Dance was launched in 2007 as Dancing Classrooms Philly (DCP) as the principal initiative of Arts in Schools Collaborative by local advocates Jane Brooks, Joyce Burd and Harvey Kimmel (right). In our founding year, we served 50 classrooms – more than any other pilot program in the country at that time.
• In 2008-09, we created the Musicopia Dance Academy (formerly known as the DCP Academy and the Saturday Scholarship Program) to expand our reach and offer more specialized dance lessons over a 10-week Saturday course at three locations. Soon after, the Allstars were formed for those who excelled and wished to go even further in their dance studies.
• In 2012, Dancing Classrooms Philly, now called Musicopia Dance, formed a dynamic partnership with Musicopia to provide both organizations with a more efficient infrastructure while advancing their missions and community impact. Musicopia and Musicopia Dance are both committed to working with children and schools that lack adequate arts education programs or have little access to the regions’ cultural life.
• In 2013, we expanded our programming to reach not only fifth grade students, but also eighth grade students and students in special needs schools.
• In 2019-20, Musicopia Dance began offering residencies with gender neutral circles. Independence Charter School, Penn Alexander School, and Woodlynde School were the first to pilot circles arranged randomly, rather than by gender identity.
• During the 2020-21 school year, Musicopia Dance began offering Latin, Hip-Hop, and Salsa residencies to students in grades 3 and up, as well as at after school organizations and community groups.
• At the end of the 2024-25 school year, DCP was rebranded as Musicopia Dance —
  aligning more fully with long-time affiliate Musicopia and beginning the next chapter of
  our journey towards expanded dance offerings and equitable access to arts education.