Center for Contemporary Dance holds an emergency fundraiser

The Center for Contemporary Dance in Winter Park issued an urgent plea for financial help Wednesday as the struggling nonprofit tries to keep its doors open.

“Many of you have been the grateful recipient of our generosity, care and love,” read an email from executive director Craig W. Johnson to supporters of the 17-year-old school and studio. “Now, we need your help.”

He said after Hurricane Irma struck Central Florida last September, many of the school’s students were forced to withdraw as their families faced financial hardships. The school finished the academic year with a $180,000 loss.

Although Johnson said the landlord has been patient and understanding as the center fell behind with rent, the organization now faces eviction. “As it stands, we have no choice but to cancel all summer programs and classes until further notice,” he wrote.

But there is a glimmer of hope: The landlord of the space on Aloma Avenue east of Semoran Boulevard is letting the Center for Contemporary Dance try a crowd-sourced fundraiser to get back on track.

“If we can raise the $40,000 for delinquent rent by June 3 (or before another tenant secures the space) and an additional $60,000 by June 30, we will re-open before summer ends,” Johnson wrote. “There is great hope that we will be able to resume business by fall.”

The Center for Contemporary Dance is well-known for its community involvement and commitment to introducing dance to people from all walks of life. The center led a free “healing through dance” workshop after the 2016 Pulse massacre, and has led programs for the visually impaired, at-risk students, low-income neighborhoods, the elderly and individuals with special needs. Perhaps its best-known achievement is the “Sacred Slave Stories” program, choreographed by the center’s artistic director, Dario J. Moore. In the work, the words of slaves are read aloud to music while their real-life stories, some painful, are interpreted through dance. The National Endowment for the Arts gave Moore $10,000 to take the work on tour to low-income schoolchildren, and it has been seen by thousands.

Moore and Johnson say they haven’t been taking their salaries while they work to stabilize the center’s situation. Johnson says they have also been raising money through grants and donations.

Still, time is running out. The emergency fundraising campaign, using #SaveCCD, can be found at crowdrise.com/saveccd. Writes Johnson: “With your support, we hope to re-open very soon to stand once again with you on the dance floor and celebrate our continuing endeavors in dance, diversity, inclusion and, most importantly, LOVE.”