Ford Theatre Foundation
COMMUNITY BRIDGES PROGRAM

| About | History | Goals | Youth Residencies | Community Partners | J.A.M. Sessions | Advisory Council |

"I know lots of families that have never been to a concert, period! It is the MOST incredible feeling to see them enjoy such magnificent performances at a beautiful place!"

"I knew that most of these shows would be a new experience to our students and to many of them it would be a once in a lifetime experience."

- Past Community Bridges Partners

About
The Community Bridges Program provides opportunities for underrepresented members of Los Angeles County to participate in events and programs, both on and off the stage, at the Ford Theatres. More generally, the program strives to build enthusiastic and engaged audiences for the performing arts and an increased appreciation for the diversity in Los Angeles.

History
Community Bridges is an outgrowth and expansion of the Ford's successful Latino Audience Initiative (LAI) launched in 2002, which helped connect Latino artists and audiences with the Ford. An LAI Advisory Council was created within that same year and helped the Ford achieve remarkable success, increasing Latino audience attendance from 13 percent to 26 percent and raising performing artist participation eight-fold to 60 events over a three year period.

Goals
Community Bridges is expanding its outreach efforts to connect Asian Pacific Islander, African American and Latino communities to the Ford, so that artists and audiences fully reflect the rich diversity of greater Los Angeles. For the long term, Community Bridges works to build a stronger community of performing arts participants within non-traditionally reached communities.

Youth Residencies (formerly Community Outreach Partnership Program) The Youth Residencies program is one means by which Community Bridges accomplishes its mission. This program provides access through exposure and education to the performing arts for underserved families in the Latino, African American and Asian Pacific Islander communities of Los Angeles. Qualified Ford performers conduct a series of performance-based classes in their discipline for students and families who are also provided with free tickets and transportation to attend Ford Amphitheatre performances.

By weaving together education and exposure, Youth Residencies makes the performing arts accessible to underserved youth in Los Angeles. Going beyond tangible workshops and tickets, the program has a deeper impact on the youth it serves. The program allows students to connect their personal heritage to a greater cultural relevance. Through sequential workshops, diverse performances and shared family experiences, the program provides life lessons such as tolerance, respect, and understanding of one’s own culture and of the diverse cultures of the larger community.

As Lynette White, Director of Advanced Learning of the Compton Unified School District, shared after her students received a master class from and tickets to see Imani Winds, a New York-based African American wind quintet, in 2008, "Seeing performances and performers who look like them is what gives the kids wings."

WHAT OUR PARTNERSHIP OFFERS:

• Teaching artists who conduct 12 to 20 hours total of workshops in a particular art discipline.

• Transportation to and from a show at the Ford Amphitheatre for the students and their families.

• Up to 60 tickets to a Ford Performance (subject to availability).

Community Bridges Partners

Arts for All http://www.lacountyarts.org/artseducation.html	Pacific Asian Counseling Services www.pacsla.org
LACER www.lacerstars.org	Self Help Graphics www.selfhelpgraphics.com
Heart of Los Angeles www.heartofla.org	Little Tokyo Service Center www.ltsc.org
Los Angeles Music and Art School www.lamusart.org	Youth Mentoring Connection www.youthmentoring.org
Tia Chucha’s Café Cultural www.tiachucha.com	Los Angeles Young Marines www.layoungmarines.org/index.html
Higher Opportunity Program for Education (HOPE @ UCLA) vsu.bol.ucla.edu/hope.html	Bresee Recreation Center www.bresee.org
Mud Town Arts www.mudtown.com	Korean American Family Services Center www.kafsc.org
Las Palmas Park City of San Fernando www.sfcity.org	Search to Involve Pilipino Americans www.esipa.org
Lemon Grove Recreation Center www.laparks.org/dos/reccenter/facility/lemonGroveRC.htm	Southeast Asian Community Alliance www.seaca-la.org
Cambodian Association of America www.cambodian.com/caa/	Plaza de la Raza www.plazadelaraza.org/Redone/school.html

J.A.M. (Jazzed and Motivated!) Sessions
In 2008, as part of our efforts to continue engaging audiences in the performing arts, the Community Bridges Program launched an initiative to empower the general public to practice the arts and take ownership as artists in our community space. Through its free interactive J.A.M. Sessions, the Ford invites participants to share the stage with artists in dancing, singing and art-making at the Ford Amphitheatre. Similar offsite Community J.A.M. Sessions take place at partnering community parks and centers throughout Los Angeles County. These J.A.M. Sessions relate to performances in the Ford’s core season and are intended to enhance the entire artistic and cultural experience of Ford patrons. The initiative creates community by giving patrons a creative outlet for their own self expression and an increased sense of belonging at the Ford.

"It was a wonderful experience for me and my children. Even my teenage son, who complained at first, opened up and participated. He learned to appreciate the arts a lot more."

"More J.A.M. Sessions please!!! The Ford is the best place in L.A. for summer events. The venue allows for audience participation and that is a great way to make people want to participate in more events."

- Past J.A.M. Session Participants

Advisory Council

Luis Alfaro Playwright / Director	Tusann Kuo Vice-President / Taiwan Center of Los Angeles Peter Kuo Public Relations / Marketing Manager East West Players
Richard Azurdia Actor	Dan Kwong Independent Artist
Carlos C. Barron Los Angeles County Arts Commissioner Human Relations Council Los Angeles Unified School District Johan Nairne Beckles Independent Cultural Arts & Media Consultant	Mark Lee Independent Producer
Tomás Benitez Los Angeles County Arts Commissioner Arts Consultant	Oliver Mayer Playwright / Professor University of Southern California
Jilly Canizares Executive Director Association for the Advancement of Filipino American Arts and Culture	Nobuko Miyamoto Artistic Director / Founder / Great Leap, Inc.
Theresa Chavez Artistic Director / About Productions	Rebecca Nevarez Manager / Latino Arts Network
Philip W. Chung Co-Artistic Director Lodestone Theatre Ensemble	Sharon Paulo Cultural Affairs Board of Commissioners Los Angeles Cultural Affairs Heritage Commission
Alison de la Cruz Company Administrator / About Productions	Rosylyn Rhee Assistant to the Director of School Programs The Music Center
Mike Eng Council Member / California State Assembly	Corazon Rios Booking & Marketing Manager Great Leap, Inc.
Evelina Fernandez Founding Member / Latino Theatre Company	Jon L. Rivera Artistic Director / Playwrights Arena
William Flores Arts Administrator / Latino Theatre Company	Diane Rodriguez Associate Director / Center Theatre Group
Prince Gomolvilas Playwright	Gema Sandoval Artistic Director / Danza Floricanto Scoti Scott Independent Cultural Arts Producer & Consultant
Leigh Ann Hahn Director of Programming Grand Avenue Performances	Sri Susilowati Artistic Director / Dancing in the Margins
Joel Jacinto Cultural Program Director Kayamanan Ng Lahi Filipino Folk Arts	Nongyao Varanond Executive Director Thai Health and Information Service, Inc.
Traci Kato-Kiriyama Producer / Artist / Tuesday Night Café	Stefanie Wong-Lau Board Member / Cold Tofu Improvisation
Steve Kawamura Vice-President / Los Angeles County Asian American Employee Association

Community Bridges is a program of the Ford Theatre Foundation and is supported with generous grants from The James Irvine Foundation, the National Endowment for the Arts and the Flourish Foundation.

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