Mission
The mission of Luna Dance & Creativity is to bring creativity, equity and community to every child’s life through the art of dance.
Founding
Luna was founded March 8, 1992 by Patricia Reedy. Although Luna’s mission has remained unchanged, it has also been known as Luna Dance Institute, Luna Kids Dance, and Luna: a dance world, reflecting programmatic shifts over three decades.
Leadership
Luna uses a distributive leadership model. Leaders are Nancy Ng (Executive Director and Director of ECE & Policy); Dr. Patricia Reedy (founder and Director of Creativity and Pedagogy) and John-Mario Arcilla Sevilla (Director of Operations and Development). All three also serve as faculty.
Faculty & staff
Mary Jane Agnew, Development Assistant
Moriah Costa, Teaching Artist
Kimiko Guthrie, Professional Learning Manager
Zoe Huey, Teaching Artist and Family Dance Coordinator
Sally OuYang, Programs Assistant
Jochelle Pereña, Professional Learning Facilitator
Genoa Sperske, Guest Teaching Artist
Contact
lunadancecreativity.org
Mail: 1831 Solano Ave #7788, Berkeley, CA 94707
Visit: 931 Ashby Ave, Berkeley, CA 94710
510.883.1118
Programs and services
Professional Learning is a comprehensive teaching and learning center for dance artists, teachers, social service workers, and change agents. This is the only resource in California that solely focuses on dance pedagogy and instruction for those working with children and youth ages 0-17 and also uses model programs as field research to move the field. Luna’s Professional Learning (PL) is rooted in critical and culturally responsive pedagogy, sound principles of child development through a Vygotskian lens, inclusivity, and creative rigor. Workshops are offered in-person and virtually for beginners through advanced continuing education. Other PL services include Practitioner Exchanges, panels and forums, curriculum, consultation and coaching, and in-depth learning institutes.
Studio Lab is Luna’s onsite programs that include Studio Lab Kids (SLK) offering afterschool, weekend, and summer dance classes. SLK is the only dance studio program on the west coast that focuses solely on building the dancemaking capabilities of young choreographers, ages 5-17. Using the Elements of Dance, SLK students create, edit, revise and perform their original work. Studio Lab also offers classes for preschool aged children, Family Dance, embodied parent education, and Summer Dance Camps. Studio Lab Adults includes an artist residency, studio rental, 20/30 Points of View: a peek into dance making which is a daylong showcase of various approaches to the choreographic process.
Partnerships with education and arts organizations is where Luna can collaboratively envision and manifest models of what is possible in dance and creative education. We build cultures of dance at elementary schools, early learning centers, and social service agencies. Luna also works with school districts, county offices of education, state and regional agencies, and national and international organizations to bring high quality dance programming to as students as possible and assure that dance is included in larger arts education networks.
Organizational Consulting is a service provided to dance and other organizations as they create, expand, or restructure their dance programs. Consulting is offered to Luna’s Partners, to Professional Learning participants, and to arts and education colleagues who seek help in strategic planning, assessment and evaluation, professional development for staff, leadership training, program design, or other aspects of running an equity-centric agency.
Early Childhood Education is a core component of all of Luna’s programs. Parent-child classes are offered in Studio Lab Kids, free family dance classes are offered several times per month, and many Professional Learning workshops are geared toward teaching children 0-8 years of age. Our Partnerships include at least one model early learning center and district ECE departments within Offices of Education. In 2024 Luna launched a five-year practice-to-policy initiative centered on Early Childhood dance learning.
MPACT (Moving Parents and Children Together) was founded in 2001 to bring relationship-based curriculum and embodied parent education to families with young children (0-8) in the social welfare system. We partner with agencies to bring parent-child dance classes as part of the reunification process. MPACT has served incarcerated women, women living in domestic violence or homeless shelters, women in residential treatment facilities, and immigrant families. Parents also participate in Luna’s Free Family Dance programs in parks, libraries, and our home studio as part of our Studio Lab-Families program.
Field Moving activities advance equity in dance, arts, and education initiatives regionally, statewide, and nationally. Luna has collaborated with colleagues to advance the California Theater and Dance teaching credential, to prepare schools to work within the new Proposition 28 structure, and to review and adopt dance teaching standards for all students. We initiate activities, serve on committees, and provide board service as part of our effort to further the field of inclusive dance education.
Clients and partnerships
Acorn-Woodland Child Center, Oakland Unified School District (OUSD)
Alameda Family Services
Alameda County First Five Every Child Counts
Albany Unified School District
Alice Street Learning Center, Oakland, CA
America College Dance Association Festival
Arroyo Viejo Child Development Center, Oakland, CA
Arts Education Alliance of the Bay Area
Asian Women’s Shelter, San Francisco
AXIS Dance Company, Oakland
Bella Vista Children’s Center, OUSD
Berkeley Arts Education Steering Committee
Berkeley Cultural Trust
Berkeley Y Head Start Centers
Berkeley Unified School District
Berkeley Unified School District Early Learning
California Dance Education Association
California Department of Education
Canyon Dance Company, Flagstaff, AZ
Center of Gravity School, Pleasant Hill, CA
Chabot Community College
City of Oakland Early Head Start
Create CA
Dance the Bay (UC Berkeley)
Dance IS Festival (SF Bay Area)
Dancers’ Group, San Francisco
De Colores Head Start, OUSD
Del Norte County School District
Encompass Academy, OUSD
Family Support Services of the Bay Area, Oakland
First Five Alameda County
Foolish Operations, Vancouver, BC
Grass Valley Elementary, OUSD
Kaiser Early Learning Center, OUSD
Kidango, Fremont, CA
Las Positas Community College, Livermore, CA
Lifelong Medical Health Center-Project Pride, Oakland
Los Angeles Unified School District, VAPA Department
Lotus Bloom, Oakland
Magnolia Women’s Recovery Center, Oakland & Hayward
Marcus Foster Education Fund, Oakland
Marin County Office of Education ECE
Marin-Sausalito Unified School District
Merritt College, Oakland
Mills College Dance Dept.
Mills College Education Dept.
Music Center, Los Angeles, CA
Myriad Music Center, San Mateo, CA
National Dance Education Organization
National Guild for Community Arts Education
New Ballet, Memphis, TN
New Highland Academy, OUSD
Oakland Unified School District ECE Dept. (17 centers)
Oakland Unified School District VAPA Dept.
Opera Piccola, Oakland, CA
Piedmont Unified School District
San Francisco Ballet
San Francisco State University Dance Dept.
San Francisco Unified School District
Santa Barbara Dance Institute
Santa Cruz County Arts Alliance
Siskiyou College ECE Summit
Solid Foundation, Oakland
St. Vincent’s Day Home, Oakland
Tilden Elementary (preK-3rd grade), OUSD
Trybe, Berkeley
Tri-Valley Haven, Livermore
VSA/Kennedy Center
West Lake Middle School, OUSD
Women’s Day-time Drop-in Center, Berkeley
Wooden Floor, Santa Ana, CA
Conference Presentations
Americans for the Arts, 2017
Arts Education Partnership Conference, 2007
California Alliance for Arts Education, 2009, 2000
California County Superintendents’ Educational Service Association, 2011
California Dance Education Association, annually 2000-2024, keynote address 2018 (Ng)
California Head Start conference, Riverside, CA, 2015
Embody/in MyBody conference, Vancouver, BC, keynote address 2015 (Reedy)
Legacy & Leadership in Dance: Shaping the Future, 2024 (Ng)
National Dance Education Organization, multiple presentations annually 2002-2024
National Guild for Community Arts Education, 2022, 2017, 2012, 2010
Teacher Action Research Institute, 2012
VSA/Kennedy Center Conference in Arts and Special Education, 2024, 2017, 2014, 2013, 2008
Research & publications
Body, Mind, & Spirit IN ACTION: a teacher’s guide to creative dance ©2015, ©2003
Dance Education in Practice (editorial staff 2015-present)
Unifying Dance & Relationship Through MPACT, Hill & Ng, 2017
Using Inquiry to Improve Teaching Practice, Reedy, 2018
The Dance Inquiry Podcast (2020-present)
InDance, multiple articles (multiple Luna authors, 2007-present)
International Journal of Education and the Arts, Engaging Families in Dance, Ng, Reedy, Warburton 2014
Journal of Dance Education, Through the Lens of Improvisation, Pereña, 2022
Featured in publications
Arts Beat, 2019
Berkeleyside, online 2024, 2022, 2014, 2012
Berkeley Times, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2013
Contact Quarterly, 2008
Dance Education in Practice, 2017
Dance Magazine, 2003
Dance Studio Life, 2014, 2013, 2011
Dance Teacher Magazine, 2020, 2019, 2017, 2012, 2011, 2006, 2003
Danza Hoy, 2004
East Bay Express, 2016, 2015
East Bay Monthly, 2017, 2012
Huffington Post, 2014, 2013
Journal for Physical Education, Health, Recreation, and Dance, 2005
KQED, 2011
Leadership Magazine, 2008
Mills Quarterly, 2024, 2017
San Francisco Chronicle, 2022, 2012
San Francisco Examiner, 2013, 2012
Teacher Artist Journal, 2004
The Source, 2015
Awards
Alameda County Office of Education Alliance for Arts Learning Leadership, 2007
City of Berkeley Proclamation, 2017, 2014
Community Excellence Award, Red Oak Opportunity Fund, 2017 (Reedy)
Dance Teacher of the Year, Dance Teacher Magazine, 2015 (Pereña)
Generous Heart Award, Dance Studio Life, 2014 (Ng & Reedy)
Isadora Duncan Dance Award, 2003-04
Milestone Award, National Guild for Community Arts Education, 2016 (Ng)
National Dance Education Organization Outstanding Dance Educator, 2008 (Reedy)
National Dance Education Organization Mentorship Award, 2003 (Ng & Reedy)
Women’s Initiative for Self-Employment Woman of the Year, 1998 (Reedy)
For Recent Grant Awards, please visit our Supporters page.
Education
Luna faculty receive ongoing education and professional learning opportunities in dance, child development, and teaching methodology designed by Director of Creativity & Pedagogy, Patricia Reedy who holds a doctorate degree in Education from the University of San Francisco. Individual staff members hold degrees and professional experience that can be seen on our Teams page.