African Heritage Dancers and Drummers 4018 Minnesota Avenue, NEWashingtonDC20019202-399-5252202-399-5252

Program: African Heritage Dancers and Drummers Year Started: 1960 Focus: Dance & Music Youth Served: 250 Ages: 3-21 Budget: $100,000 The African Heritage Dancers and Drummers, located in Washington, DC's inner city, teaches dance traditions in an environment that, according to Executive Director Melvin Deal, serves as a surrogate family and a repository for African cultural research and documentation. The teen program includes an intensive regimen of 2 to 3 hour dance and drumming classes 5 days a week, during which participants also learn performance skills and study the costumes and history of the dances. Supplementing the cultural program are mentoring services that encourage character development, teach life skills, advise on teen pregnancy prevention, assist with truancy problems and support general equivalency diploma preparation. "We've come to realize we need to make a whole person before we can make an artist," says Deal. The dancers and drummers receive a stipend and community service hours toward high school graduation for performing throughout the year at local community centers, schools, festivals and cultural centers. They recently performed at New York City's Lincoln Center. Participants move through the program in stages from student to performer, performer to teacher and teacher to mentor. This progression helps youth gain exposure to the larger world and see options for becoming positive contributors to the community. "Staff and instructors evaluate the program almost daily. We need to constantly assess the morale of the youth and outside influences to ensure solidity," says Deal.