01 & 14 (172)Public Comment
From: kerry Jezisek <
Sent: Monday, April 26, 2021 12:50 PM
To: Public Comment
Cc: info@anaheimballet.org
Subject: Public Comment for the April 27, 2021 City Council Meeting Re: the Anaheim Cultural
Arts Center
Good afternoon, Mayor Sidhu and City Council Members.
I am writing to you on behalf of Anaheim Ballet, advocating that their lease with the City of Anaheim be
renewed and that their current location be maintained in lieu of transforming the building into affordable
housing.
While providing affordable housing is indeed a worthy and needed goal, converting Anaheim Ballet to housing is not
the solution.
The state -mandated housing densification requirement should not be used as the impetus for removal of Anaheim
Ballet from the community.
Future affordable housing could be located closer to transit and other vital services in lieu of the proposed location
currently occupied by Anaheim Ballet.
In addition to other locations with the city being better suited for the placement of affordable housing,
Anaheim Ballet plays a critical role in the community through its cultural and ballet programming and its
location serves those in the surrounding community very well.
If the City Council were to choose pullout of its long-standing partnership with Anaheim Ballet, there would be
a sizeable negative impact on so many living in our community - especially those currently living in the various
lower socio-economic neighborhoods surrounding the studio. The community needs art and culture, and
Anaheim Ballet brings both.
In the 2017 Policy Paper by Policy Link (Creating Change through Arts, Culture, and Equitable Development: A
Policy and Practice Primer ) it very clearly lays out the importance of Arts and Culture for underserved
communities.
Arts and culture.., like dance.., are essential for building community, supporting development, nurturing
health, and well-being, and contributing to economic opportunity. Collectively, arts and culture enable
understanding of the past and envisioning of a shared, more equitable future. In disinvested communities, arts,
and culture act as tools for community development, shaping infrastructure, transportation, access to healthy
food, and other core amenities. In communities of color and low-income communities, arts and culture
contribute to strengthening cultural identity, healing trauma, and fostering shared vision for community.
Anaheim Ballet plays a critical role in reaching the underserved populations of Anaheim through their ballet
programming - especially the STEP-UP! program.
The goal of Anaheim Ballet's STEP-UP! educational outreach program is to serve as a catalyst for change in the
lives of young participants, a call to personal excellence, and to produce performances which serve as a source
of entertainment and inspiration for the community at large. Whether from the rigorous athletic training
program or from the inspiring live performances in schools and concert stages, the youth of the Anaheim
community benefit greatly from the positive messages inherent in classical ballet.
The young people of Anaheim need the experience of standing erect, holding their heads high and moving
with athletic and understated grace. They need this safe but challenging social interaction where there are no
distinctions of ethnic diversity or socio-economic levels. From their first day in Anaheim Ballet's STEP-UP!
program, students are challenged to personal excellence. Many are asked to reexamine their own opinions of
how much effort is demanded to produce quality results.
STEP-UP! outreach students train in classical ballet, and classes are ongoing and offered at no cost to those
who are unable to pay. These students are mainstreamed into regular training classes at Anaheim Ballet.
Several students have received placement in our nation's prestigious ballet company schools.
As teachers work with dancers to improve the physical attributes of strength, stamina, and flexibility, it is also
hoped that the principles of patience, perseverance and humility will also begin to grow in the dancer's
physical and emotional life.
What a gift the young people of Anaheim are given through the dance training provided by Anaheim Ballet; a
gift that instills confidence and drive that will serve all students, and especially the STEP UP! dancers, well in
their future life endeavors.
As the parent of a child who has attended ballet classes at Anaheim Ballet over the years, I can speak directly
to the benefits of ballet training and the wonderful experience made possible through Anaheim Ballet's
programming. Anaheim Ballet flattens the vast socio-economic divide that exists in classical ballet. They make
ballet available to EVERYONE and are reaching, building up and providing hope to young people in a time
where hope has been hard to come by.
My sincerest desire is that you will vote to allow Anaheim Ballet to remain in its current location and continue
to provide the arts and culture so desperately needed in the community.
Thank you for your time and consideration.
Sincerely,
Kerry Jezisek