Fourth Annual Raising the Barre Gala

LIVERMORE, CA, May 17, 2017 - Raising the Barre is proud to announce its fourth annual Gala and Scholarship Awards Dinner. On Friday, May 26, at the Veteran’s Memorial Building in Livermore, Raising the Barre will celebrate the accomplishments of its young members over the course of the past year. Participants in Raising the Barre, ages 11-18, look to use dance as a means to bring positive change to the community in which they live. In past years the dancers have sponsored beach cleanups, walkathons, and fundraising drives benefiting such organizations as the Make a Wish Foundation and the Children’s Hospital of Oakland.

This year has been a busy one for Raising the Barre. They sponsored a food drive for Open Heart Kitchen, and an adopt a shelter event for Shepherd’s Gate in Livermore. Additionally, they danced for senior citizens at Heritage Estates and wrote holiday letters and cards to soldiers serving abroad. They also hosted a Halloween Party for young families and presented So You Think You Can Choreograph - a night of student choreographed dances.

Funds raised from the Gala and Awards Dinner are used towards the projects Raising the Barre works on each year and to support the Raising the Barre Scholarship Fund. The first scholarship was awarded last year to then senior Connie Zhou. Connie is now attending Duke University, studying pre-medicine with a dance minor. The evening will include a silent auction, along with presentations from the Raising the Barre candidates highlighting their projects from the past year.

Tiffany Henderson, Owner of Tiffany’s Dance Academy and founder of Raising the Barre, said “Founding and teaching at TDA has been my absolute privilege for nearly 17 years and I am genuinely excited about the prospect of giving back to the community. We are all excited to celebrate the accomplishments of our Raising the Barre candidates at our fourth annual Benefit Gala and Awards Dinner on May 26th.”

For more information, to purchase tickets, or to donate to the silent auction, please contact Raising the Barre Advisor, Robbie Teruya at 925-583-2806 or robbie@tiffanydance.com

Background:
Raising the Barre is a non-profit organization which aims to better the community through dance. The group is geared towards dancers ages 11-18 (Middle and High School students). Its goal is to provide Raising the Barre candidates with the skills and opportunities they need to make them compassionate, responsible, confident and strong leaders. Raising the Barre students must complete service and session hours as assigned by a faculty member who mentors them through their projects.

Tiffany's Dance Academy is a dance studio founded in 2001. TDA emphasizes excellent training in Classical Ballet, Tap, Jazz, Lyrical, Contemporary and Hip-Hop. Tiffany Henderson, owner/director, graduated from the University of Arizona, Magna cum Laude, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Dance in 1998. She has performed professionally with the Arizona Jazz Dance Ensemble at the Kennedy Center, in Washington D.C. Tiffany has also performed as far away as Amsterdam, and Japan. She performs bi-annually with Bay Area Dance Company. Her academies have been featured in Dance Informa, Dance Studio Life Magazine, Dance Teacher Magazine, The Contra Costa Times, The San Francisco Chronicle and have participated in the 2006 Disney's ABC TV Christmas Special with Ryan Seacrest. They have also been awarded the Bay Area Parent Magazine Family Favorite Award for the last five consecutive years.

Contact: Robbie Teruya
Tel.: (925) 583-2806
Email: robbie@tiffanydance.com