In January, 1993, under the direction of Ballet Master Mario Nugara, the City of Angels Ballet began collaboration with the Red Shield Community Center of The Salvation Army to offer ballet instruction to interested students of the Tenth Street Elementary School in the Pico-Union district of Los Angeles.
The Pico-Union district was chosen as a site for several reasons. It is in the heart of the Latino community (73 percent) accounting for close to half a million people, and is bordered by Asian, African-American and Anglo communities as well. According to the 1990 census, more than 50,000 residents of the Pico-Union district and the Westlake district which is adjacent are African American (11 percent) and more than 45,000 residents are Asian (10 percent).
The Pico-Union/Westlake district is the home of many children typically considered "at rish". The area's poverty rate of 35 percent is nearly double the city wide rate of 19 percent. The 1990 average household income for this area was $21,674. Nearly half of the children in this area live in poverty, compared with 27 percent city-wide. Only a third of the residents of this district over the age of 25 are high school graduates.
The children in this area are routinely exposed to gang activity. In 1993, more crimes were reported in the Rampart Division (which includes Pico-Union and Westlake) than in any of the other of the 19 divisions of the Los Angeles Police Department. This division also ranked second in the number of adults and juveniles arrested for narcotic and drug law violations in 1993.
The children of this area come from families with low income, high unemployment, and a lack of education. The city of Angels Ballet seeks to provide these "at risk" children of limited means with the opportunity to participate in a fine arts discipline, and to offer those with talent the chance to pursue a professional career in dance.
Ironically, the Pico-Union area is adjacent to downtown Los Angeles, the center for cultural events within the city. The children have been given the opportunity to attend several professional ballet performances because of this proximity.
In January, 1993, the first group of children from the Tenth Street School began instruction on Wednesday afternoons. Since that time, Mr. Nugara has worked closely with Allyn Shapiro, principal, and Irene DeAnda Lewis, Director of the Red Shield. Participation in the program has grown steadily.
By the summer of 1993, parents from the neighborhood were bringing their children to Mr. Nugara for instruction themselves. By the end of the year, through a grant from the James Irvine Foundation, a dance studio with a proper ballet floor and barre were installed in the Red Shield building. Friday and Saturday classes were subsequently added.
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