At the University of Utah Tanner Dance Program, we believe everyone—with or without a disability—plays a valuable role in our community. Opportunities to meaningfully interact with others increases our capacity to be an active participant in society. Through generous donations, we are able to provide rich and supportive programming for individuals with disabilities. With your support, we seek to expand the human experience beyond prescribed boundaries.
The Adaptive Needs Program offers positive and engaging classes and programs for children and adults with disabilities. Each program provides an opportunity for participants to learn and grow through art-based education in a loving, welcoming environment. Adaptive Needs classes include dance classes for children and adults along with two additional programs that provide educational opportunities for individuals with intellectual and/or physical disabilities who are between the ages of 18–60 and beyond. These programs include:
- LEADD (Learning and Engaging through Arts Discipline and Development)
The LEADD Program teaches valuable vocational skills through dance, music, theater, and visual art, and it incorporates lifelong learning through reading, creative writing, and science classes. The LEADD Program is designed to give adults with disabilities a place to learn and grow as individuals, as well as express themselves as artists through multiple mediums and genres. Classes are participant oriented, arts integrated, and feature high quality instruction focused toward developing a final product. The LEADD Program participants have the opportunity to perform and display their work in a year-end showcase. - Elevate Musical Theatre Company is comprised of individuals with intellectual and/or physical disabilities, as well as volunteers, who meet weekly to produce a spring musical. Participants engage in singing, dancing, and acting in a supportive and engaging environment while developing social, cognitive, and mobility/physical skills.
Gifts to the Adaptive Needs Program enhance personal development for every participant. We look forward to a future where the lives of all individuals with disabilities are benefitted by the arts.
If you’d like to make a greater impact on students, you can set up a recurring/monthly gift to this program. Recurring gifts aid in providing consistent funding for resources that are not covered by tuition or external funding sources and enable us to plan for the future with greater financial stability and flexibility.
