Dancing in the Streets Celebrates 10th Anniversary

Description Dancing in the Streets Arizona (DITSAZ) is both a well-appointed ballet studio and a laboratory for success.  DITSAZ was founded in 2008 by husband and wife team Soleste Lupu and Joseph Rodgers, who met in ballet school in Tucson, and with a modest sum of money received in celebration of their wedding.  The DITSAZ studio is located in South Tucson, a one-square mile city surrounded by the City of Tucson that maintains a strong cultural heritage, but struggles with high crime rates and poverty.  The mission of DITSAZ is to use the power of dance to transform lives using the excitement and discipline of ballet to guide children in developing positive life skills; and to break down cultural barriers and enrich the community’s artistic experience.

The students take classes and perform in professional settings regardless of their income level, physical shape/size, or skill level.  DITSAZ has served children with incarcerated parents, victims of abuse, those with serious physical and developmental disabilities, as well as non-traditional ballet students, such as overweight children or those with other physical limitations. Thirty-seven of our students were referred by the Juvenile Court to complete community service, many of whom continued on as students after their terms of service were completed.  Regardless of background or how they became involved, these students have discovered they can do more than they ever thought—not just across the dance floor, but in the classroom, in their family, and in their community.  DITSAZ has demonstrated that dance education provides at-risk youth, and all students, a vehicle to experience positive teamwork and discipline, develop friendships that challenge cultural barriers, and most, important, experience accomplishments that serve to broaden their sense of life possibilities. No one is ever turned away if they want to learn.

Dancing in the Streets AZ (DITSAZ)
88 W. 38th Street, 85713
Phone: (520) 298-7738 or (520) 867-8489