Esperanza Dance Project is a community-based collaboration that uses dance performances to educate about the issue of childhood sexual trauma and deliver a message of hope, strength and empowerment.
Esperanza Dance Project (EDP) performs two separate age-appropriate shows that integrate dance, music, and narrative. House of Hope, our high school show, was created to spread awareness and educate about childhood sexual abuse. The show discusses challenges that are faced by survivors in their healing process and delivers a message of hope. Our middle school show, ProjectRIS: Respect, Inspire, Support, focuses on issues of concern brought up by youth between the ages of 11 and 14 including unhealthy relationships, substance misuse, poor mental health, body image, safe social media, and bullying.
All performances and programming are free for schools, and every student who attends a performance receives a copy of our comprehensive curriculum which corresponds with each of our two shows. The curriculum was developed by professionals from the Tucson community in the areas of education, school counseling, dance, language arts, and behavioral health.
It includes journaling prompts and local resources to help students navigate issues that are addressed in our performances. (Insert high school curriculum link) When EDP is booked for a performance, we collaborate with school contacts to determine the best possible way to meet their students' needs. Our shows were created with the flexibility to be performed in a variety of unconventional spaces such as cafeterias, basketball courts, and meeting rooms.
Both our high school and middle school performances run for about 40 minutes. Before each performance begins, students receive index cards and are invited to share written questions or feedback. Immediately after the performance, the dancers, who are trained peer advocates, facilitate discussions inspired by the audience's anonymous index cards in a Q&A style conversation.
In 2011, our Founder and Managing Artistic Director Beth Braun, professional dancer, choreographer, high school dance educator of 20+ years, and survivor of domestic and sexual violence, created EDP after her daughter disclosed that she had been sexually abused by her biological father for as long as she could remember. Her pain was so great that she no longer wanted to live. Numerous questions about her life were finally answered. Beth’s daughter led a life filled with pain, shame, and suffering. She had suffered from chronic migraines starting at the age of 8 and causing her to be out of school more than she was there, anxiety, depression, eating disorders, self-harm, and drug misuse. Beth’s daughter did whatever she could to keep her abuse a secret while numbing her emotional pain.
According to the U.S. Department of Justice and Center for Disease Control and Prevention (Finkelhor), one in four girls and one in six boys will be sexually assaulted by the age of 18. This number is even higher for those in the LGBTQ+ community. Beth began to learn about childhood sexual abuse, and began to recognize similarities in her students and other youth on the campus where she worked. She discovered that her daughter’s story wasn’t unique and that sexual trauma is an issue that’s plaguing our youth.
Dance is emotion in motion. It elicits strong, visceral reactions that help students process hard emotions. EDP uses the transformative power of art to create safe spaces that help youth feel that they are no longer alone. Spreading awareness, educating, supporting survivors, and inspiring meaningful conversation surrounding sexual trauma is the foundation of EDP.
This project is supported in part by the Arizona Commission on the Arts which receives support from the State of Arizona and the National Endowment for the Arts. www.azarts.gov
The Esperanza Dance Project is supported in part by the Arts Foundation for Tucson and Southern Arizona funded by the City of Tucson and Pima County http://artsfoundtucson.org
