20 YEARS LATER...

This organization started 20 years ago on Friday, March 5, 2004 at a dance practice that started with 10 girls in Ahoskie, NC.  It grew to over 100 kids when we added a basketball league, marching drum line and auxiliary team in under one year!  We welcomed all youth from ages 5-22 with and without experience, all free of charge!  They kept coming bringing friends and family to our creative, safe space where we let loose with beats and lively 8-counts.  We often traveled performing for churches, community outreach events, cultural programs and parades.  We took several teams to Fine Arts Competitions all over the nation.  We had the opportunity to expand our reach into Murfreesboro, NC then Franklin, Suffolk, Chesapeake, Norfolk, and Virginia Beach, VA before we relocated to Phoenix, AZ where we transitioned from RDP into ATO in 2016. We offered classes for youth in North Phoenix, Sunnyslope, and South Mountain.  We were encouraged to become incorporated and apply for non-profit status by one of our team parents!  We did and now,  20 years later, we are able to offer even more because our children who grew up in this program now serve alongside us as Coaches.  We are approved vendors with the City of Phoenix, Parks and Recreation Department and the AZ Empowerment Scholarship Account.   YEAR 20, marks not only our 20th anniversary but the GRAND OPENING of our very own humble facility on N 16th Street in Central Phoenix where we plan to continue to serve and impact at-risk students with creative expression, art, music, dance, audio/video production, theatre clubs, and our own microschool.  Our goal is to continue to strive to be a part of the solution as a beacon of hope, structure and mentorship for many generations to come!