Mission

The mission of the Boston Street Dancers Fund is to provide financial support for professional street and club dancers earning a living in the Greater Boston area. While many local organizations and non-profits invest in the art of dance by funding performances, festivals, and dance education, the Boston Street Dancers Fund plays a unique role in that it supports the dancers themselves by providing funding for living expenses.

Story

Boston is a wealthy city. It is a hub for high-paying industries such as biotech, healthcare, and technology. But it’s also an increasingly prohibitively expensive city to live in (or near) which makes it forbidding for artists—even those who perform at the top of their field. As I’ve gotten to know people in the street dance community, I’ve seen many successful dancers thrown off course by one set-back due to financial insecurity. I’ve witnessed dancers repeatedly unable to pay their rent because a gig fell through. I’ve spoken to dancers who haven’t had a doctor’s appointment in years because they can’t afford health insurance and make too much money to be eligible for MassHealth. I’ve seen dancers unable to work due to injury they got on the job. If you haven’t already, I encourage you to watch the video that illustrates the problem from the perspective of 5 professional street dancers.

Growing up, I never had to worry about money. Even when the local newspaper my dad wrote for was on strike, I was told we didn’t have to worry. I know now that this was because of generational wealth. I have participated in the street dance culture from a position of privilege. I live in a neighborhood (Cambridge) where the dance opportunities are abundant and accessible. And I’m lucky to have the time and money to have pursued street dance as a hobby. But to be clear, that hobby has changed my life. I have made life-long friendships and I’ve relied on dance classes, jams, gatherings—official and otherwise—to nurture my sense of well-being particularly through hard times.

The financial security that I enjoyed growing up is something that everyone deserves. Yet, for many in the street dance profession, this stability is something that is out of reach due to a number of factors including systemic barriers and a persistent underfunding/valuing of the arts. I founded the Boston Street Dancers Fund because I love street dance, but more accurately I have love and respect for the people who have shared with me locking, house, hip-hop, dancehall, waacking, popping, and krump. Only by investing in the people who create the dance can we sustain the culture. My hope is that the Boston Street Dancers Fund can be a safety net for street dancers in Boston.

Funding

Funding for rent, healthcare, car expenses, food, childcare (you name it) is an essential and missing component in sustaining the thriving, but often overlooked street and club dance scene we have here in Boston.

So if you’ve benefited from being a part of this community, please give what you can. If you’ve enjoyed the benefits of financial stability, consider helping those who lack the autonomy that financial stability affords. And if you’re a member of the street dance community who needs some help, stay tuned.

Jane Leo

Executive Director | Boston Street Dancers Fund

jleoreiki@gmail.com