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 one day/week at the nonprofit Starting Arts studios, also in San Jos, California. Both dance companies rehearse 2 to 3 times a week for approximately 6hours/week/company. All dancers are volunteers and we provide professional training, access to resident master artists, research trip participation, and accurate regional costuming for them.In FY2024 we held 2 self-sponsored dance events which included 1 outdoor community festival and 1 indoor theater concert. For those that could not attend, we offered on-demand access to the concert and free online access to a video of the entire 5+ hour talent portion of 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 FY2024 our dance companies performed in front of 24,692 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 FY2024 we completed the last half-year activities sponsored by a two-year artistry grant from the Hewlett Foundation. In FY2024 we hosted a musical traditional ensemble and an acting coach from California as well as the residency of a master dance artists/choreographers from Sonora, Mxico. In addition, we organized and sent small groups of dancers with our Artistic Director to research dances and traditional customs in both the states of Puebla and Chiapas, Mxico.
Los Lupeos AcademyOur Dance Academy continued and grew the selection of in-person folklrico dance classes during FY2024. Our typical year offers four 10-week quarterly sessions, each with 12 class offerings to all ages starting with toddlers up to advanced adults, but another 3 classes were added as part of a pilot expansion project, making a total of 15 offerings. 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 FY2024 our Academy taught 680 students and had over 3,000 people attend session recitals.