Esperanza Dance Project preparing for first fundraiser gala

TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Normally, non-profit dance company Esperanza Dance Project uses dance as a form of activism, working to reach survivors of sexual assault and sexual trauma. The group often travels to middle and high schools around Tucson.

Recently, they've been practicing for a different kind of audience. The company is preparing for their November fundraiser. Esperanza Dance Project's artistic director Beth Braun said this will be their biggest yet.

“The more work we do, the more young people we can help,” Braun said. Esperanza will use the funds to expand their mission of empower survivors of sexual violence and trauma through movement.

The Gala is Sunday Nov. 17 at Site 17 at 5:00 p.m. There will be performances, line dances and auctions, both silent and live.

“Dance is a non-verbal art form," Braun said. "Sometimes its really hard to talk about things, to explain things, yet with our bodies and with movement we can express so much.

Braun used to teach high school dance. After her own daughter faced sexual trauma, she began to notice similar symptoms in other students on campus. That's what inspired Esperanza.

She said some of the big ones were withdrawing from trusted adults and friends, lacking eye contact during conversations and dropping grades.

“As hard as that was to go through," said Braun, "now I look back, and I feel grateful that I’ve been able to create something that has really helped a lot of young people."

One of Braun's students, Nicki Smith followed her former teacher's company after she graduated.

“Every performance I attended, I was moved," Smith said.

Eventually, she joined the company as a dancer and a board member, fully embracing the mission.

“The body was used as a weapon against them," she said. "So we’ve using movement as a way to show them, their source of trauma can be redefined as a source of healing.”

She'd bring her niece, Precious Davis, along to class. Eventually, Davis joined the team too.

“It’s another form of language that people can understand emotionally,” Davis said. She says dancing with a purpose gives her a deeper drive to perform well.

Esperanza Dance Project's dancers will be performing three dances throughout the night of the gala. Each one begins with a monologue from their shows.