welcome to Prime Time.

I'm Bruce Haines.

The word is inclusion and among its definitions inclusion is the opportunity to live and exist as a contributing member of the community while being valued for one's abilities and uniqueness.

And it's in that spirit that we'll be talking tonight with representatives from two local nonprofits.

Later in the program we'll speak with the executive director and the program director of Fort Wayne Dance Collective.

With us now is Maria Teitelman then KERO the executive director Jig's Playhouse Fort Wayne a one of a kind achievement center for individuals with down syndrome, their families and the community is the new executive director and a pleasure to have you on the show.

>> Welcome.

Thanks for having me, Bruce .

You bet.

Tell us what's behind the name.

How did Jig's Playhouse come to be?

>> Yeah, so in 2003 Nancy Jeanny gave birth to her daughter with Down syndrome.

She created the first JuJu's Playhouse and how the states Illinois to have a place for her daughter to go and be celebrated and embraced.

So a few years later and Fort Wayne Doug and Cindy Atkinson had their first granddaughter with Down's syndrome.

So they brought gifts to Fort Wayne because they wanted the same thing for little Charlotte.

So we are the twenty ninth location to open out of fifty six.

We are one of two nationally that has an open cafe.

Our cafe is called Genesis Health Bar.

It currently serves twenty nine individuals adults with Down syndrome teaching them real world experience in a cafe open to the public.

>> Well and you were sharing a little bit earlier that with the experience you are getting running the cafe they also had to do that in real time with covid-19 and share as well some of what they were picking up as bonus education with all that.

>> Yeah.

So during that the pandemic are on site public cafe basically was shut down.

There's no more foot traffic.

So what we did was and it was the silver lining in all this is it made us take another look at our catering business.

So we ended up getting into nine of the all American gas stations that they now sell our sandwiches and our reps well and we're seeing some of the images of that great work in progress and that catering continues at the gas station business is going great.

Everyone's trying to be a little more as normal as possible which is terrific.

Gigi's Playhouse sounds like the focus is on young persons but this is across the spectrum of age, isn't it?

>> Oh yeah.

We we serve our families from pre prenatal diagnosis up until career development and all of that driven by a very important mission.

>> What what is that mission of Jig's Playhouse How to Help is put into play the mission of Jesus Playhouse is to change the way the world views Down syndrome and to spread a global message of acceptance for all those with disabilities which I think is what it is.

>> That brings us back to the discussion about inclusion because you just had last month October was a Down syndrome Awareness Month but Jig's takes a different tack on that.

>> They change awareness to acceptance and ask folks to take a pledge and things like that.

>> Yeah, interesting experience.

>> Yes, we ask everyone to take our pledge to be kind and to be generous and to be accepting and in that month when there is that awareness and that acceptance that's being promoted and and the great education that we're all taking with us.

What do you find are still some of the lessons we need to learn about Down syndrome?

I did not realize it was one of the most prevalent but yet one of the least funded diseases in this country.

>> Yes, yes.

And that's part of why we partner with the CENI the down Syndrome Association of Northeast Indiana to spread awareness and advocacy about Down syndrome and and the network itself of Jig's Playhouse's across the country and around the world is so to be the twenty ninth or so in the upper 20s in in coming to be is quite the compliment for the region.

>> Yes.

>> So in all of that new developments updates in the last year or so we're wanting to believe we're moving forward from the pandemic and through the pandemic but with the kinds of activities that the facility has been offering up to and through it all, what's that been like?

>> What's going on?

Yeah, so we are open and we'd love for people to come in and to our place give give our participants a chance to show them what they can do in the Genesis bar.

But we're seeing our numbers increase and we're hoping to be back to serving about three hundred families per year like we were before pandemic.

>> So I found it interesting that the lessons you were offering, the services that we were providing, the whole agency pivoted within one week with with the arrival of what was that like?

So the JuJu's at home was on the roster for 2012 one.

But when the pandemic the pandemic it just kind of pushed us further and we had it launched within one week of our programs being suspended.

>> There may well be those who are watching this evening who know of where they themselves are involved with an individual with Down syndrome had families go about qualifying or inquiring about working with Jeezy's playhouse.

>> So if a participant or a family member is interested, we welcome them to come have a tour.

If they like what they see, they can get registered and actually start programing that very same day and across the board all of our programs are free.

You're No one never does it alone and I understand that Gigi's playhouse has associations with other non-profits that really turned out to be very important partners.

>> Yes.

So we do like I mentioned a partner with the CENI but we also met we also partner with Trin and Purdue University try and provide us with their physical therapists and they put on a program called Joujou Fit and the Purdue Fort Wayne provides us with their speech pathologist so those interns come in and work with our participants with their speech and their motor skills and for those on the road who know where you are at and get what you do and want to know how to connect, are there opportunities for community members to volunteer?

>> Yes, plenty JGI Fort Wayne is run ninety nine percent on volunteer so we have a lot of volunteer opportunities they can apply online to be a volunteer but we have one on one tutoring they can help in our Genesis health bar and with various programs we also have three events we put on a year that takes a lot of volunteers so well and I also understand of course every nonprofit this is an important time of year in a season of giving.

But it's not just money can be material to I understand.

>> Yes.

Yeah so you Fort Wayne runs one hundred percent on generosity from the community so we take material donations as far as office supplies and some other things those are listed on our website and if you'd like to make a monetary donation they can send it to our North Clinton address or donate online as we get into conversations among nonprofits and across community about diversity and equity and inclusion.

And from your experience to working with seniors, communities, big brothers, big sisters, northeast Indiana right to life when you hear that word inclusion and working with nonprofits what what comes to mind?

>> What what what's the importance of a word like inclusion for you as a nonprofit director?

>> Why I was drawn to the mission of Jesus because these kids and that's why Nancy Jeanny started as a place offers them a place to be embraced and to be loved and to be accepted and that activity continues even to this day and beyond.

And there are some great next steps you can take those by mouse or by phone.

>> You can click over to Jorge's Playhouse Doggie Fort Wayne and that is important because you can get the National Association exactly if you go to the national no problem.

>> You can find locations and get back to Indiana right.

But Jig's Playhouse Doggie Fort Wayne or the four eight two seven five two nine number eight Maria Teitelman then Carol is the new executive director at Jig's Playhouse.

>> Fort Wayne , thank you very much for taking time to do this tonight.

Thank you both.

Our pleasure.

>> And as we move through our evening, our conversation on inclusion continues with Fort Wayne Dance Collective.

>> That's where creative energy moves.

>> Take a look.

Fort Wayne Dance Collective is home.

Wonderful, amazing family community joy and dance collective is freedom awesome fort Wayne Dance Collective is opportunity because it lets everyone no matter how young or old they are, no matter when they started dance dance any genre they want dance however they want whenever they want they can do it.

>> It's a free environment to just express and find out who you are is one of those places where you're automatically welcome.

You build these relationships here that's on forgettable and it's just amazing to be here for one dance collective is home.

It's not boxing up dance into this little mold and trying to fit people into this little mold.

If you have Parkinson any type of disability or your prima ballerina it all fits at the Fort Wayne Dance Collective with us from Fort Wayne Dance Collective, our executive director Lee Rainbow both and program manager Ashley Benioff.

>> Welcome to you both.

>> I thank you for being here.

We really appreciate it.

>> Thought of you in this discussion of inclusion because it has the you have the word collective in your very own title.

>> It's not Fort Wayne dance a couple over here, couple of Wayne dance.

>> Let's bring everybody together.

And that togetherness began what sometime in the late 70s I believe.

Give me an overview of an organization we know is so familiar and yet we don't mind hearing it again.

>> Yeah exactly from the very start Fort Wayne Downs collective has been about inclusion that's really been at the center of the organization is it was started in nineteen seventy nine and it was started by a group of women here in Fort Wayne who just they wanted to dance and didn't feel like there was a place for them to do that and so they created this place that was really opened absolutely everyone no matter who they were, no matter what their abilities were no matter what their experience level was, no matter what age they were, what gender identity they were so they could just come and experience the joy of dance.

>> And in that I like to particularly again with the inclusion connection that all should have access to the arts.

>> Ashley, that all should be involved with dance and that movement can change the world if it can't shift a few calories at the same time too which would never hurt.

>> But what's your experience been with the agency so far?

Yes, I think we're really about and it's even in our mission is to empower and inspire people of all ages and all abilities.

Everyone can move.

Everyone has a dancer inside their soul and I feel like really opening that opportunity up and letting people who might not think that they can have that opportunity and we're very much about collaborating and really trying to work pretty much as a family and really so everyone feels like they can come as they are and they just really feel free to express themselves because that can be very empowering and I think people just like to be seen and be able to be themselves.

>> What is that process like to see folks have that moment of self discovery that there are only so many Fred Astaire's and satirizes to go around but nevertheless I am I really one of them is a right foot not another left wing and that kind of thing.

>> What is that like?

Yeah well I think it really is sort of magical to see someone realize that they don't have to be a Fred Astaire but they can still use dance and move their body and experience music and rhythm in a way that can still change their life and empower them as an individual and really help them discover who they are as an individual as well.

And at the same time also make connections with other people and build those relationships through dance.

And I think that's what's really special about what we do at the dance collective is that it's really about building that community between each other so that we do understand each other better and everyone does feel like they have a place.

>> Yet the outreach is is amazing to see the diversity in that with again folks with different abilities, levels of abilities and again across all ages as well.

>> So wherever you'd like to start it is wherever we're happy to listen to.

How did obviously those is are right up there with the find a need and fill it strategy but very particular important programs particularly the dance for community outreach Initiative.

>> Why don't we start there?

Yeah I think we were trying to serve those who otherwise wouldn't have the opportunity.

I think that it's really important to like present that opportunity to kids and or adults pretty much we service all age groups but we really want to make sure that we're making it accessible and giving those opportunities so the kids can perform on a stage those they can be under the lights so they can work together as a group and kind of find that like again a family community connection where they may not be able to.

So we like to partner with different organizations and people with different abilities.

So that they can feel like they're also a part of it and they can be on the stage.

They can be performing, they can be moving just like anyone else that they see or their fellow peers.

>> And this is where you're taking the resources to them as well.

>> You're going out to the schools and that's the meeting you more than halfway kind of a moment.

Yeah, exactly.

It's really important for us to meet people where they are at in the community so that I think a lot of people can sometimes be intimidated by, you know, art spaces and feel like it's not a place for them but we want to make sure to bring the arts to people no matter where they are.

So whether it's at a community center or at a school or within the hospitals or within any of our partners that we work with which are many throughout our different outreach programs, we want to make sure that people they might not feel like they have access to those spaces where arts are typically experienced but we want to make sure that they are introduced to it in a way where they feel comfortable and they feel again just seen and heard and honored at another point of connection with inclusion is the dance for diverse abilities.

>> This is a long running program for for the collective.

Yeah we have I think it's that over twenty five years now again we were trying to reach all those people that might not be able to and luckily through one of our founders Lisbona, we've been really able to build these relationships with not only Fort Wayne Community Schools and East Allen but we can partner with Turnstone Children's Autism Center.

I could go on and on about the different sites that we work with but again really providing that opportunity and our instructors are really amazing and have been trained and know how to handle different diverse neuro capabilities, physical capabilities and really meet them where they are but also empower them again to feel enhanced and be able to express themselves.

>> There's a healing arts program.

>> Yes, we all could use at least a couple of big tablespoons of that from absolutely.

Yeah.

And that's a program also that we're really proud of .

It is in partnership with Part Health and that we work with again a group of artists who go into part view and work directly with patients in their rooms to use the arts to help them and to help them just make it through whatever they're going through there.

And that program actually involved a lot of different arts beyond just dance but also music and visual arts and writing.

And so it really taps into a lot of diverse kind of artists to reach those patients and the people who who can really use the healing power of the arts.

>> Yeah, and all along the way with these programs it seems to address the oh you can't mean me.

Oh that must be for somebody else.

But you don't have anything in your bag for me do you have it and now there is dance and education which actually you'll have to help me with this one because I think this is phenomenal mentioning that dance collective has expanded dance and education to include arts integrated residencies as a way to teach language arts, math, social studies and science.

Finally we go we go from stem to steam in an awfully big way.

>> Yeah, I think it's really important to realize that people think and learn in different ways and they're able to like access information in different ways and I feel like the arts can really help reach some of those kids like kind of put a visualization to something or help them see something that might have seemed black and white now kind makes more sense and their brains and I think the arts is a beautiful way to do that and we also give them the tools but then also encourage them to create their own world and kind of getting them to use their brain and different ways as opposed to memorizing things but taking those things and then trying to interpret them either physically or even just imagining it and it really kind of gets their brain working both halves and it really helps them retain that information actually that's that helps that helps mine and to be able to to have an opportunity other often moments where the community can sort of get a sense of some of the programs and performances that that dance collective offers.

>> Absolutely.

We've been talking about our outreach programs a lot that work with these partners in the community.

But of course we have our onsite school too where we offer classes at our location in our studios on Berry Street is Berry Street and so those classes are open to anyone of any age, any ability, any identity.

And so we definitely encourage people to come and experience dance no matter what your experiences with it before.

Come try it out and just enjoy yourself.

And also we do have multiple performing groups that put on multiple performances throughout the year.

We just finished up our Halloween show which was a really great success.

We brought in some guest artists from Haiti that participated with us in that show along with a group of students from South Side High School and then our own touring company to enter.

So we have multiple performances like that throughout the year.

Our next one now we're taking a little break until next spring when we'll have another guest artist residency.

We're bringing in the company Complexions to come perform next spring.

So we hope people will come out and join us for that as well.

>> Wow.

Yeah.

How did you grow through the pande months which arguably are still with us but perhaps in a less intense sense as of this hour tonight.

>> But what was that like a year or so ago?

I mean I initial like everything kind of shut down and we had to reassess things.

We actually were lucky and a lot of ways and we were able to pivot our programing.

>> Oftentimes we think of dance in a studio but like you can watch a video and follow along once things are starting to open up a little bit more.

Zoome became a thing where I think the dance world knows like all of a sudden you could take a class from someone in New York or and technology has actually brought us closer and a lot of ways and we once things were opening up we just kind of had to adjust and follow as we went along keeping space masks, just kind of making sure providing again that opportunity for people.

>> And I feel like now we actually have a lot of tools in our bag that we can use to reach even more people as the year progresses.

So and you hear this often that there are agencies who say well now that we are where we are now versus where we were before, we don't have to put it all away.

>> In fact, we'd like to keep some of this out and hey, there's a strategic use for whatever it might be.

>> What's been some of your takeaways?

Yeah, I think especially when we think about the idea of inclusion, it's been important for us as we've discovered these alternative ways of providing dance programing.

It's really able to reach a lot of people who maybe aren't able to always come in to be in the studio for a dance class.

But people who, you know might have a certain disability that doesn't allow them to to come into our studio all the time we can reach them now with different through Zougam classes or online classes or different ways.

And so now we're actually starting to do a lot of sort of hybrid classes with the things that we offer so that sometimes we have a teacher teaching in the studio but we also have a zoom screen set up so that people at home can also join them.

>> That's that's pretty neat.

And it was just sitting here thinking about the importance of and the growth of telemedicine as as the pandemic has been something we continue to contend with.

>> But as dance medicine I suppose tella dancing may not be all that so far removed necessarily.

>> Yeah, absolutely.

I think we all just have to be creative and continue to adapt as our world changes so we look forward to whatever the new opportunities present and in that and as you say sticking with the word of the evening being inclusion what comes to your mind when you when you hear that whether it's through experience with what we enhanced collective or in your comings and goings with work with other non-profits?

>> Let me start with you.

Yeah, I guess inclusion to me I feel like essentially we're all human and we all are able to like I think really bringing everyone together.

>> I don't think you necessarily have to like have the perfect body or like have all this training to feel like you're a dancer inside.

I feel like again empowering people to be able to express themselves in different ways no matter what and kind of rethinking what we think dance is.

We might think of it as the classically trained ballerina and while yes, that is the case also like just like kind like bopping around in the shower whenever you're getting ready in the morning I feel like you're also using your body to express however you're feeling happy joy sometimes anger.

But I think everyone can do that and I think more people should be open to coming to do there you go Lee.

How about you?

Yeah, I think when we talk about inclusion it's just about breaking down those barriers that make people feel like they don't belong and I think the arts is such a powerful tool to do that.

So I hope that what we do continues to break down those barriers so that people don't ever feel excluded, don't ever feel like the arts aren't for them and there are ways for you to discover your place with the arts, the dancing kind and you can find out all about it.

>> We dance collective Doug or disgorges.

Yes.

>> Yes.

And you see the phone number there as well.

And in the meantime to opportunities to plan your calendar with their activity going into twenty twenty two as well.

Leray both is the executive director for Valentin Dance Collective and Ashley Benning.

Hoff is the program director for Dance Collective.

>> Thank you very much for coming in tonight.

We really appreciate it.

Thank you.

Thank you for keeping us all in motion and for all of us here prime time thank you for allowing us to be a part of your evening.

>> I'm Bruce Haines.

Take care and we'll see you again next week.

>> Goodnight