Why is Soul Sanctuary Dance volunteer-produced and offered as a gift without an admission fee?
Our mission is to produce a welcoming and inclusive all-ages community freestyle dance that supports free expression, community, physical and emotional health, and a spirit of generosity. An all volunteer produced dance offered as a gift is the best way we can see to further that mission. Is this a viable “business model”? How is it going? We’ve been inching towards this model since 2006: lots of volunteer effort has gone into the dance. For a long time we had a sliding scale admission fee, and a policy of “no one turned away for lack of funds.” In May, 2010 we made the full transition to all volunteer and no admission fee. As we expected, we have plenty of volunteer help, and our dance is sustaining itself through “pay it forward” gifts. Is the dance really a gift? Yes. In fact, it’s a gift we’ve been giving each other all along, since our founding in 2003. Now, we’re making it explicit that the dance is something we all give each other. There are no expectations or strings attached.
