Issue Three- March 2021:

By Mercedes Barreto

What is the purpose of The Fordney Foundation, regarding the motivation in the very beginning to start it?
“There are two purposes. One is to discover and train talented individuals with the ultimate goal of having established a professional career in a dance-related profession. Secondly, to introduce elementary school students to ballroom dance so that they can reap many benefits.”
How has the foundation been making advances in different areas, including different developments for dance? What does The Fordney Foundation mean to the world of dance?
“Throughout the U.S. and Canada, The Fordney Foundation is annually connected to over 70 dance competitions. This allows amateur pre-teen, teen, youth, and junior categories
of ballroom dancers to accumulate points, and then cash awards are given at The Ohio Star Ball each November to the 10 top Standard and 10 top Latin. At the time of the awards, additional competitions, such as team match (west coast, central, east coast, and Canada) are held, in which all participants are given monetary awards.

There is also a competition called Best of the Best, at the time of the awards where couples vie for three of the top placements to win cash awards. Also, at that time, three dance studios with
the most entries throughout the year are recognized with trophies. A separate DREAM program (Dream means D = Discover, R = Respect, E = Express, A = Achieve, and M =Motivate) reaches out to elementary school students who have a professional ballroom dance instructor that teaches for 15 weeks on the school campus with a showcase at the conclusion. The showcase demonstrates to parents, relatives, friends, and school
staff what the students have learned.”

Has Covid had any, if at all, impact, on the work done by the organization? How so?
“Our professional dance instructor, Erica Arnold, along with her husband, Artemi Okunev, created teleconference weekly dance lessons without partners to reach out to the students during their confinement at home. Also, virtual dance lessons were added to The Fordney Foundation and DREAM websites.”
What are some of the DREAM program benefits?

“Dance has many positive benefits, such as the following:

-It increases physical activity. Students are taught respect and courtesy to classmates.-Dance advances self-confidence and elevates self-esteem.-Social skills are enhanced. -Memory is boosted.-Stress is reduced.-Dance helps students to explore creativity.-There is an increase in motivation.-Scholastic scores are improved.-Dance cultivates an appreciation of music.

–Ballroom dance develops teamwork.”

What is the organization’s mission statement? How does the establishment strive to keep funding dance in the lives and the hearts of so many?

“The Fordney Foundation helps children and young adults to realize their dreams of artistically expressing themselves through ballroom dance. It was established to promote ballroom dance to individuals of all ethnic groups without regard to religion or creed that are dependents 6 to 25 years of age attending schools who qualify as amateurs.

Our funds are invested to acquire enough to cover the grants we annually award. Also, we have some fundraising programs that appear on the website, www.fordneyfoundation.org.“

Are there specific achievements that could be shared, when talking about 2020 and 2021? 

“Since 2007, we began an annual scholarship at Brigham Young University and many of those that have received our grants have become professional ballroom dancers.

When the foundation was created in 2002, there were very few good young dancers, but now, we have some that are proficient enough to go to European competitions and have won first place awards. Regarding the DREAM program, some elementary school students have begun to compete in national ballroom dance competitions and students have seen an improvement in their scholastic scores.

Is there anything more than The Fordney Foundation might add?

“Please visit www.fordneyfoundation.org so you can read our weekly blogs with photos and videos of the ballroom dancers. If you have a loved one that had a passion for dance and he or she passes away, we have a memorial on our website, The Yellow Brick Road, and when you donate, their name can be engraved on one of the bricks.

A photo and short story can be inserted so that when the brick is clicked, their image appears. Funds you donate may make a unique and valuable difference in the lives of children and the future generations to come.”