Program areas at Cashion Cultural Legacy
Los Lupeos de San Jos & Los Lupeos JuvenilOur adult dance company, Los Lupeos, and our youth ensemble, Los Lupeos Juvenil, rehearse and perform year-round at the Mexican Heritage Plaza in San Jos, California (managed by the nonprofit School of Arts and Culture) and occasionally at the nonprofit Starting Arts studios, also in San Jos, California. Both dance companies rehearse 2 to 3 times a week for approximately 6 hours/week/company. All dancers are volunteers and we provide professional training, access to resident artists, and accurate regional costuming for them.In FY2023 we held 3 self-sponsored dance events which included 1 outdoor community festival and 2 indoor theater concerts. For those that could not attend, we offered on-demand access to the concerts and free access to our community festival. Our dance companies also performed at client-contracted or pro-bono performances for weddings, festivals, corporate parties, etc. We estimate that during FY2023 our dance companies performed in front of 16,616 audience members with thousands more seeing whole or partial videos posted on our YouTube Channel, on our two Facebook pages, and on TikTok.
Artist Exchange/Artist Residency ProjectIn FY2023 we benefited from a $100,000 grant from the Hewlett Foundation to support multiple artist residencies throughout the year. Since this is 20 times our normal budget for this project, in FY2023 weve been able to host two master dance artists/choreographers from Mxico, plus a dance artist from Los Angeles, and a group of professional musicians from Veracruz, Mxico. The Hewlett grant is focused on amplifying the artistry of our performing artists (dancers), dance instructors, and artistic director. Along with working internally to our organization, most resident artists offer public workshops and lectures to the community so that their knowledge is shared.
Los Lupeos AcademyOur Dance Academy continued and grew the selection of in-person folklrico dance classes during FY2023. Our typical year offers four 10-week quarterly sessions, each with 12 class offerings to all ages starting with toddlers up to advanced adults. Tuition aid of up to 85% encourages family participation where, due to their economic situation, they could not afford extra-curricular activities for their children. This aid is funded by personal contributions raised during the annual Giving Tuesday Campaign. In FY2023 our Academy taught 623 students, over a 100% increase from the previous fiscal year.