Moving in the Spirit is an award-winning youth
development program that integrates high-quality
dance instruction with performance, leadership
and mentor opportunities for young people in
Atlanta, Georgia. Our mission is to educate, inspire
and unite young people through dance, propelling them
to become compassionate leaders.

We hear this declaration often at
Moving in the Spirit. It’s expressed by
students when their peers give them
encouragement during a particularly
hard time.

It’s voiced by parents when they form
unexpected friendships while waiting
for their children to finish class.

It's revealed by our alumni who have
forged lifelong bonds and now watch
their own children dance together.

Supporters like Ralph Edwards
and his daughters, Tyler Gardner
and Colie Neidlinger, have
positively impacted thousands
of Atlanta’s youth.

JoAn Huff, Jean Redding, Marilyn & William Rosenberg
Sallie Smith, Clayton Whitehead, Pam Wuichet & J.D. Scott

100% of Moving in the Spirit’s seniors
graduated from high school.

Governor Nathan Deal presented
Moving in the Spirit with a 2013
Governor’s Award for the Arts
& Humanities.

Our Director of Outreach Programs,
Dr. Charné Furcron, presented our
evaluation model at the American
Dance Therapy Association
national conference.

The Atlanta City Council proclaimed
June 5, 2014 as Moving in the Spirit Day.

Moving in the Spirit created and
premiered The Wonder Years,
a dance tribute to the music and
social justice work of Stevie Wonder,
at the Rialto Center for the Arts at
Georgia State University.

Student Kai Lewis (center) won
an 11 Alive Kids Who Care Award
for her phenomenal commitment to
creating change through the art
of dance.

“Moving in the Spirit has taught me to not be
afraid of my goals, not be afraid of my
dreams, and to just do it. For me to step
out on faith and say, ‘This is what
I’m going to do,’ has freed me.”

Roscoe Sales (Atlanta Ballet)
T. Lang (Spelman College)
Lillian Ransijn (Ground Delivery Dance)
Amanda Lower (Northwestern University)

Rocketown, Nashville, TN
Barking Legs Theater, Chattanooga, TN
Berea College, Berea, KY
7 Stages Theatre, Atlanta, GA

“Because the Junior
Company is an all female
company, it really puts an emphasis
on girl power. We talk about what
it means to be a girl and how
we relate to society.”

Emory University Dance Department

Agnes Scott College Dance Department

“In Men in Motion, I learned about
flexibility and sportsmanship.
We bond together as if we’re all a
group of brothers. It makes the
performance that much better
because you trust people.”

TrickaNomeTry, Emory University
Blake Dalton, guest choreographer

“My favorite thing about our
teachers was that they pushed
 us.
If some dancers were having trouble
learning the steps, the teachers
would tell other students to help
them. It pushed all of us to work
harder, and it helped me grow
as a leader.”

The Wonder Years
Rialto Center for the Arts at Georgia State University

“We keep coming back because
Moving in the Spirit has such a
positive impact on our kids. They
display all the qualities Moving in
the Spirit instills: leadership,
maturity, individuality.”