We have a chance to get a space we can design specifically for dancers on the Spectrum. But we need your help.

Our Vice-President accidently ran across this space while “window shopping” one day. The real estate agent said he hadn’t been in the space for five years, but he didn’t think it would work for a dance studio. It was just an old roofing and gutter showroom. But he was willing to show it to Miss Gayle anyways.

It’s on the back of a shopping center. It isn’t a place people just see when they are driving by. It’s just a door nestled between a cabinet making shop and a church. There’s nothing exciting about the front door. Once Miss Gayle walked through the door, though, she started to get a feeling. So did Leta, who was with her. Who couldn’t help but feel like this might be the place when they are greeted with this wall?

Could this be a sign? Miss Gayle and Leta weren’t sure. They started walking through the space, wondering what else they might encounter.

The breakroom seemed normal enough. It had a dishwasher installed, which would be quite helpful after holding events in the space. There was room for a full-sized fridge. This was quite promising.

The next room used to be and office. With a little TLC, the space would work perfectly for a changing room for the dancers.

They went back into the hall and through another door? What was this? The size of the room was almost perfect. If they just took out the partial wall, this would be the size of a dance studio. Raise the ceiling. Add subflooring. Add flooring. Hang some mirrors on one wall. Line the other three with barres. Maybe change the lighting so the light in the room can be adjusted for Sensory Friendly Classes. If they raised the ceiling a bit, the adults wouldn’t hit their heads while doing leaps.

This room would easily fit ten dancers and one instructor. And the rent was exactly what the CEO had budgeted for rent. Could that be a sign?

Walking back into the hallway, Miss Gayle and Leta went to yet another room. Looking around, they decided this would be perfect for an office.

Right outside was a bunch of drawers build into the wall. The big drawers could hold shoes. Younger dancers could take their outgrown shoes and place the shoes in the drawer. Then, they could look through the drawers for shoes that fit them. It could be like a Shoe Exchange Station. That way, as dancers were growing like weeds, their families wouldn’t go bankrupt keeping them in shoes.

They went back into the hallway to keep exploring. The next two rooms were a little small, but if they took the wall down between them, added some mirrors, and lined the walls with barres… Add the subflooring and cover it with dance flooring… Change the lighting so they could control the lights…

Yes, this could easily be a second dance studio. Instead of only having once class at a time, they could have two classes.

They could have evening classes along with daytime classes.

They could host community events, sharing their love of dance with those in the Autistic Community who hadn’t experienced it yet.

And all for the same price monthly that the CEO had budgeted for daytime studio rental.

Miss Gayle and Leta went back into the hallway knowing this was perfect. What more could this space have to offer them?

They saw the restrooms. (Which were already ADA accessible.) They saw the storage space where they could store everything the studio needed. (Like extra tables and chairs for events.) Then they saw the last surprise the studio had to offer. One last room.

It was a smaller room, but that would be perfect for what Leta had in mind. Add some glassless mirrors. Make sure the barres didn’t have any splinters. Make sure the screws holding the barres to the wall didn’t have sharp edges. Add a more forgiving sprung floor, so if anyone tumbled due to their lack of cordination they wouldn’t get hurt. Have just 1-3 students in the room at a time. Plus a teacher. Set up some cameras so parents could watch without distracting their dancer.

Yes, this would be perfect for the early preschool classes, for teaching Level 3 ASD Dancers, and for private tutoring sessions.

Maybe Leta could even use it as a private rehearsal space when she was waiting for her mom and Miss Gayle to finish work for the day.

The space was perfect, but could they afford the costs to renovate? There was only one way to find out. Miss Gayle called around to some companies to get quotes.

As if the story couldn’t get any more “magical”…

The cost for renovations was less than what our CEO thought. By a lot. It would only take around $15,000 (plus permits) to renovate the space.

After receiving the quote - and our CEO doing a bit of digging into the cost of everything else - and she figured out the costs of renovating Studio A and Studio B.

$12,600 to cover rent at this space, plus our rent at On the Break for the next four months

$6,700 for the marley tap XL flooring (plus shipping) from Great Mats

$102.88 for the tape to tack the flooring down (plus shipping) from Great Mats

$4767 for the subflooring from Great Mats (plus shipping)

$15,704 (plus permits) to do the physical renovations

$4755 for glassless mirrors

$2399.96 for Barres in Studio A

$995 for portable dance boards we can use while at On the Break

The total comes to roughly $48,020.84 (plus shipping and permits.)

Leta knows this is an achievable dream that will allow Autistic Wings Dance Company to provide a safe space for even more dancers on the Spectrum. A space where they can be themselves, quirks and all, while learning to dance. A place where they can dance without judgement or ridicule. A place where they can form lifelong friendships that they can lean on as the grow and go out into a world built for neurotypical people.

A place where adult with autism can come together and enjoy dance classes while surrounded with people just like them. Because Autisim doesn’t magically go away when one turns nineteen. Support services and activities like dance shouldn’t, either.

Visit our crowdfunding site on Donorbox to donate today.

(And don’t forget to share the link with others, too.)