NOLTE COMPANIES DECLARATION IN SUPPORT OF BLACK, INDIGENOUS, and PEOPLE OF COLOR (BIPOC*):6/15/2020 Nolte companies stand for love and creativity. Our aim is to grow artists in a safe, inclusive, and innovative environment. To our students and the larger community: From police brutality to the exclusion of BIPOC artists of all genres, all faculty and staff of Nolte companies strongly condemn any and all forms of racism and discrimination. We acknowledge that to begin to dismantle the systemic racism extending back to and preceding the establishment of the United States of America, we all must take action within our own daily practice. We commit to doing better; we need to do better. Black Lives have, and always will, Matter. All Nolte programs stand firmly with BIPOC colleagues, artists, and community members, as well as any others experiencing discrimination. NOLTE COMPANIES 2020-2021 BIPOC SUPPORT ACTION PLAN: We, at Nolte companies, vow our support to help bring about meaningful changes in our programs and our broader community through the following action plan for our 2020-21 season: • Develop a committee of Nolte faculty and staff dedicated to overseeing and ensuring the action plan is being executed with integrity. • Develop an advisory board made up of community members external to Nolte companies to provide encouragement and accountability as we fulfill our action plan. • Invite BIPOC guest artists in all arts areas we teach at Nolte including acting, theatre arts, voice, preschool, and all genres of dance. This step is kicked off this summer by our Open Doors Dance Festival Tap Intensive, “Integrity+Truth.”* • Decolonize* arts education, especially in Jazz, Tap, and Hip Hop, as these are Black American vernacular dances, by utilizing footage highlighting dancers of color, incorporating in-depth study of the history of dance as ethnic communication, and guiding students to make meaningful connections with this history through Sankofa*. • Create both an online and in-studio library of dance and the arts that incorporates high quality resources on BIPOC arts heritage, history, and stories, with recommended reading lists for a variety of ages. • Develop a partnership program with a neighboring Black dance/arts institution or program for BIPOC to bring arts instruction to a more racially and socioeconomically diverse pool of students. • Provide arts or academic tuition scholarships to BIPOC students. • Hold a fundraiser to help support a local BIPOC business or an organization working for racial equity. • Maintain a safe and respectful culture in all Nolte programs: free of verbal, physical, and emotional harm to all. * Links to referenced: https://www.thebipocproject.org https://www.opendoorsdancefestival.com/tap-intensive-1 https://oxfordre.com/…/978019…/acrefore-9780190264093-e-240… http://www.sankofaedgroup.org 
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 Dear Nolte families -- That’s a wrap on a very different end to our year from where we began! I am so grateful to each of you for sticking with us and for being our partners in this evolving world. While we weren't able to capture the growth of this year from Hancher's big stage, we did pull together a phenomenal production with each of our broadcast recitals. Thank you for your extra effort in helping make that experience a success. We heard from many of you that your children watching themselves and their friends on the screen was one of many #SilverLinings. If you would like to rewatch your recital, please feel free to do so on Vimeo: Special thanks to our phenomenal staff for gracefully shifting their talents and teaching approaches mid-year. We couldn't have done the uncharted without them. Our 20th Anniversary year looked a little different than we imagined. Our humble beginning at a small strip-mall location with bare-bones staff has flourished into a thriving, bustling hub for arts education, and for that, we are grateful. We are at work on our fall schedule, and continuing to explore education options this summer through private instruction, classes, camps and Open Doors Dance Festival. Please stay tuned for more information. And, if we don’t see you this summer, we’ll be on the lookout for you in the fall when classes begin after Labor Day. Again, thank you for an incredible year. And best wishes to our graduating seniors. Each one has unique gifts and I look forward to seeing their next adventures in and out of the dance world! All my best, Leslie |