Mission Statement
Mission: To preserve, present, create, and expand the boundaries of American Tap Dance.
We accomplish our mission through education, creation of new works, performing, presenting tap events, collaborating with other artists and investing in talented youth.
Description
Keane Sense of Rhythm (KSR) expands the boundaries of tap dance by sharing its passion of this percussive art form. They provide opportunities for people to directly engage in the arts. Through rhythm tap we create opportunities for people to express themselves and facilitate community transformation. The goal is to engage and inspire as many people as possible by making performances accessible to audiences of all ages and backgrounds. Our dancers perform in many regional and national venues.
In the last year, Keane Sense of Rhythm participated in over 40 performances and audience totals surpassed 16,000 people. Over half of these people experienced tap through events that were free to the public. Our dancers perform in venues such as festivals, parks, public libraries, theaters, ballrooms, sidewalks, schools, government facilities, nursing homes, churches and shopping malls, such as the Mall of America. Many of our performances are free of charge.
Youth Tap Ensemble (YTE).
YTE MISSION: Learning life skills through Tap Dance. Our mission is preservation of tap as an art form connecting with youth through peer interaction and performance. Repertoire includes everything from traditional dance through cutting-edge choreography in blues, jazz, classical, hip hop and funk music.
This program is a key investment in our youth and future generations of dancers. The YTE provides a forum for talented youth to learn original and historically significant choreography, and to perform both locally and regionally. The young dancers learn and perform choreography that informs both the dancer and their audience about the roots of tap and its development and journey through America's history.
We use tap dancing as the lens through which students learn life skills. Students who study with KSR develop a strong sense of purpose and self-worth. We encourage students to participate in artistic and logistical decisions and accept leadership roles with in the organization. Students learn how to share their knowledge by teaching peers and developing understanding of group dynamics. Our goal is to create thinking leaders in the next generation- people who have the ability to problem solve, think on their feet, and have respect for history as they become leaders and creators in the future. There is a value in our organization for giving back to the community.
