01 & 14 (113)Public Comment
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Dear Members of the City Council,
Laura Tanimoto <
Saturday, April 24, 2021 6:16 PM
Public Comment
City Council Letter for Anaheim Ballet - April 24, 2021
City Council Letter -Anaheim Ballet_2021_04_24.pdf
I hope this email finds everyone safe and well.
Attached to this email you will find a letter in support of Anaheim Ballet and its long standing partnership with the City of
Anaheim, due to be discussed at the upcoming City Council meeting on April 27.
Should you have any questions about its contents, please let me know.
Thank you!
Sincerely,
Laura Tanimoto
City of Anaheim, City Council
200 S. Anaheim Boulevard, 7th Floor
Anaheim, CA 92805
Apri124, 2021
Dear Mayor Harry S. Sidhu and Members of the City Council,
Thank you for the opportunity to share my story and for opening up the floor to the voices of the
community. I write to you in support of Anaheim Ballet and its continued partnership with the City of
Anaheim.
My name is Laura Tanimoto, I was born and raised in Anaheim. My dance career spans over 20
years and it still continues on my kitchen floor where 1 dance indoors as we pull through this current state
of affairs. It is my understanding the Anaheim Cultural Arts Center—the home of the Anaheim Ballet—is
set to be repurposed for affordable housing. While the Anaheim Cultural Arts Center is an intensely
nostalgic space and Anaheim Ballet's removal would be painful, seeing the city move forward with
repurposing and potentially with no comparable relocation site or continued partnership with Anaheim
Ballet concerns me the most.
I would like to share this rather personal story with the members of the City Council in the hopes
it will give further depth to my perspective. My family was one of the many who experienced the loss of
our home due to the financial difficulties presented to us in 2008. I understand what it feels like to not
know where you are going next and also how much it would have helped my family if we ever got to the
top of the list for affordable housing. Yet during this difficult time, dance became essential. Despite
having to quit my intense 18 hour per week schedule with Anaheim Ballet, they continued to support me
and I was able to join my public high school's songleading dance team with the skills they had nurtured.
After 4 years on the varsity songleading team, I successfully auditioned for a collegiate NCAA Division 1
dance team. I completed 4 seasons in college, nationally competed, and spent the final year serving as
team captain. Through those years, Anaheim Ballet always had its doors open to me whenever I could
partake in additional training. None of this would have been possible without Anaheim Ballet.
By giving the community affordable homes, I believe we are yes, giving homes, but also by
demolishing the Anaheim Cultural Arts Center and not guaranteeing a relocation site for Anaheim Ballet,
we are taking away a home from the thousands of dancers who benefit from Anaheim Ballet's community
programs. Not only as an Anaheim Ballet dancer, but also as a former Recreation Leader for the City of
Anaheim, I experienced firsthand what it means to give service. Anaheim Ballet's programs such as
STEP-UP after school dance, summer intensives, year-round dance classes, annual performances and The
Nutcracker, dance lessons compliant with CDC guidelines, audition venue hosting, and floor length list of
dance education and community outreach are the embodiment of service to this community.
I hope a solution can be brought to life where Anaheim Ballet may stay in the Anaheim Cultural
Arts Center or at least have its livelihood preserved and I fully trust the leaders of our community to
achieve the best possible outcome. Please support the Cooperative Agreement with Anaheim Ballet.
Thank you for your kindness in reading this letter. I wish for everyone's good health and safety.
Sincerely,
Laura Tammoto