About
Include Everyone Project Performing Arts Classes offers performing arts classes that include music, dance, and acting for artists of all abilities. The program also offers performance opportunities, family dance party nights, family drum circles and jam sessions, creation nights for visual arts, picnics, movie nights, inclusive events, special fundraising events, an annual summer camp, and sensory friendly spaces at community events. Sessions are now 12 weeks of classes.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Sessions are now 12 weeks of classes
The Include Everyone Project offers performing arts classes and inclusive events for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Prader-Will Syndrome, Downs Syndrome, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, physical disabilities, 2E, and all differently abled members of the Santa Clarita community, along with their families. The program also offers self-care workshops and classes for caregivers.
Founder and Executive Director Kristen De Benedetto is a dance instructor who began formal dance training at age five, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Dance Education with a focus on Dance and Movement Therapy from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and obtained Autism Movement Therapy Certification in Spring 2017 as a certified provider in the Santa Clarita Valley. Founder and Board President Rodney Dong is a Board Certified Music Therapist, a professional member of the American Music Therapy Association, and has worked for over 20 years with children and youth with developmental disabilities such as Autism, Down Syndrome, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. Founder and Vice President Kathleen “Kate” White is a drama instructor who holds a B.F.A. in Theatre from Pace University in New York City and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education with a focus on mild/moderate special education from the University of Southern California. The leadership team also includes Treasurer (Interim) Christine Mugnolo, Secretary (Interim) Natalie Medvedev, and board members Diane Ortega, Christine Mugnolo, Karen Preciado, Bob Erio, Shauna Criner, Flo Loring (Adjunct), and Connie Vanderakis (Adjunct).
The program’s mission is to provide creative spaces that encourage all members of the community to come together while embracing those with disabilities, to support disabled artists’ social and emotional growth while they explore and learn aspects of the arts in a supportive, positive, and inclusive environment, and to provide respite, self-care, and socialization for the people who love them. IEPSCV states that no apologies are necessary at their events and aims to form a supportive community that extends into the Santa Clarita Valley. Their long-term goal is to have a community center and performance space where members of the disabled community can express themselves, explore creativity, practice social skills, and grow as creative forces. They aim to encourage caregivers to focus on their own self-care by offering wellness classes, having resources in one central location, and forming a supportive community.
Include Everyone Project SCV has begun an outreach program by bringing sensory friendly spaces to community events and works primarily within Santa Clarita’s school districts with children and youth with developmental disabilities such as Autism, Down Syndrome, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. They provide performance opportunities in March and May and offer an annual summer camp for their artists. Masking at indoor events is strongly encouraged if a student is coughing or sneezing when covid, cold, and flu season are at a peak.
One parent shared that the Include Everyone Project has provided an 8-year-old child with meaningful opportunities to participate in performing arts classes, noting that instructors are patient, kind, and well versed in handling behaviors and helping children of all abilities in class, and that the child has the chance to perform newly learned skills in front of family and friends. Another parent stated being grateful that the program exists and that their son, who loves to perform, has a place where he is accepted and allowed to be himself on stage.
Last updated May 11, 2026.
• Ages: 5–18 years old
• Schedule: Sessions are now 12 weeks of classes
The Include Everyone Project offers performing arts classes and inclusive events for students with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Cerebral Palsy, Prader-Will Syndrome, Downs Syndrome, ADHD, Sensory Processing Disorder, physical disabilities, 2E, and all differently abled members of the Santa Clarita community, along with their families. The program also offers self-care workshops and classes for caregivers.
Founder and Executive Director Kristen De Benedetto is a dance instructor who began formal dance training at age five, earned a Bachelor’s degree in Dance Education with a focus on Dance and Movement Therapy from The University of the Arts in Philadelphia, and obtained Autism Movement Therapy Certification in Spring 2017 as a certified provider in the Santa Clarita Valley. Founder and Board President Rodney Dong is a Board Certified Music Therapist, a professional member of the American Music Therapy Association, and has worked for over 20 years with children and youth with developmental disabilities such as Autism, Down Syndrome, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. Founder and Vice President Kathleen “Kate” White is a drama instructor who holds a B.F.A. in Theatre from Pace University in New York City and a Master’s Degree in Elementary Education with a focus on mild/moderate special education from the University of Southern California. The leadership team also includes Treasurer (Interim) Christine Mugnolo, Secretary (Interim) Natalie Medvedev, and board members Diane Ortega, Christine Mugnolo, Karen Preciado, Bob Erio, Shauna Criner, Flo Loring (Adjunct), and Connie Vanderakis (Adjunct).
The program’s mission is to provide creative spaces that encourage all members of the community to come together while embracing those with disabilities, to support disabled artists’ social and emotional growth while they explore and learn aspects of the arts in a supportive, positive, and inclusive environment, and to provide respite, self-care, and socialization for the people who love them. IEPSCV states that no apologies are necessary at their events and aims to form a supportive community that extends into the Santa Clarita Valley. Their long-term goal is to have a community center and performance space where members of the disabled community can express themselves, explore creativity, practice social skills, and grow as creative forces. They aim to encourage caregivers to focus on their own self-care by offering wellness classes, having resources in one central location, and forming a supportive community.
Include Everyone Project SCV has begun an outreach program by bringing sensory friendly spaces to community events and works primarily within Santa Clarita’s school districts with children and youth with developmental disabilities such as Autism, Down Syndrome, and Prader-Willi Syndrome. They provide performance opportunities in March and May and offer an annual summer camp for their artists. Masking at indoor events is strongly encouraged if a student is coughing or sneezing when covid, cold, and flu season are at a peak.
One parent shared that the Include Everyone Project has provided an 8-year-old child with meaningful opportunities to participate in performing arts classes, noting that instructors are patient, kind, and well versed in handling behaviors and helping children of all abilities in class, and that the child has the chance to perform newly learned skills in front of family and friends. Another parent stated being grateful that the program exists and that their son, who loves to perform, has a place where he is accepted and allowed to be himself on stage.
Last updated May 11, 2026.
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