Motion Pacific Youth & Teen Dance Program
London Nelson Community Center, 301 Center Street, Santa Cruz, CA 95061
About
Motion Pacific Youth & Teen Dance Program offers dance classes and dance workshops for young people. The program also connects youth and teens with public events such as Santa Cruz Dance Week, Drag Storytime, and an annual cabaret show, and is part of Motion Pacific’s Queer programming. Participants are part of a larger dance community that includes events like the max10 program, Majesty: A Queer Dance Party and Variety Show, and BBQueer Fest.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
Motion Pacific opened on January 16th, 1998, and offers over 1500 dance classes each year for students aged 3 and up. The youth and teen dance program supports over 100 youth and teen students per semester, with classes that serve dancers from beginning to pre-professional levels and bi-annual performance seasons. Motion Pacific was founded by Molly Heaster, Carmela Woll, and Greg Favor, was owned and directed in 2009 by Abra Allan, and is currently led by Executive Director Colette Tabone with the leadership of a Board of Trustees.
Motion Pacific states that it is a community organization and dance studio for “Every. Body.” and that it “queers the arts to build the world in which we want to live—joyful, liberated, and just.” The organization states that it is committed to accessible dance and community engagement, to addressing white supremacy in the culture of dance and within its organizational structure, and to working toward a world free from racial injustice where equity is centered and communities thrive. Motion Pacific describes itself as committed to racial justice and becoming an anti-racist organization, including implementing anti-racism practices and equity frameworks, organization-wide implicit bias and anti-racism trainings, and a committee dedicated to this work, as well as working toward representative leadership by evaluating hiring practices and cultivating a diverse board and staff.
Motion Pacific is a 501(c)3 charitable arts organization. It hosts Santa Cruz Dance Week every April as a public performance for dance studios and groups in the greater Santa Cruz area and co-hosts BBQueer Fest, an annual series of workshops, classes, performances, and panels for and by Black, Brown, and Queer communities. The organization states that it is increasing partnerships with local nonprofits, listening to and uplifting BIPOC artists, families, and organizations, centering community and cultivating partnerships, and working to support and uplift the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band through land acknowledgements and opportunities to support them. Motion Pacific also states that it is initiating a land acknowledgement and opportunities to support the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band at the beginning of each event, workshop, and performance and is researching and enacting a responsive reparations program.
One student and community member, Kelsey K, describes Motion Pacific as “the best” and says the studio has been a “second home” and that dancing there “has basically saved my life during this time of turmoil.” Another student, Jennifer M, says she has danced at Motion Pacific since she was a little girl and that the studio environment is “incredibly supportive” and “very welcoming,” and that the events are “super fun.” A third student, Aquila S, says it is “incredibly difficult to find a studio that is welcoming to adult beginners” and that “finding Motion Pacific was wonderful,” and also states that “their children’s classes are marvelous.” A fourth community member, Johanna S, calls Motion Pacific a “home away from home,” says it has “the best variety of adult classes,” and describes the studio as “a highly inclusive space which strives to reach all corners of our community to offer dance to all” and “a beautiful dance community for all ages.”
Last updated April 14, 2026.
• Ages: 3–18 years old
Motion Pacific opened on January 16th, 1998, and offers over 1500 dance classes each year for students aged 3 and up. The youth and teen dance program supports over 100 youth and teen students per semester, with classes that serve dancers from beginning to pre-professional levels and bi-annual performance seasons. Motion Pacific was founded by Molly Heaster, Carmela Woll, and Greg Favor, was owned and directed in 2009 by Abra Allan, and is currently led by Executive Director Colette Tabone with the leadership of a Board of Trustees.
Motion Pacific states that it is a community organization and dance studio for “Every. Body.” and that it “queers the arts to build the world in which we want to live—joyful, liberated, and just.” The organization states that it is committed to accessible dance and community engagement, to addressing white supremacy in the culture of dance and within its organizational structure, and to working toward a world free from racial injustice where equity is centered and communities thrive. Motion Pacific describes itself as committed to racial justice and becoming an anti-racist organization, including implementing anti-racism practices and equity frameworks, organization-wide implicit bias and anti-racism trainings, and a committee dedicated to this work, as well as working toward representative leadership by evaluating hiring practices and cultivating a diverse board and staff.
Motion Pacific is a 501(c)3 charitable arts organization. It hosts Santa Cruz Dance Week every April as a public performance for dance studios and groups in the greater Santa Cruz area and co-hosts BBQueer Fest, an annual series of workshops, classes, performances, and panels for and by Black, Brown, and Queer communities. The organization states that it is increasing partnerships with local nonprofits, listening to and uplifting BIPOC artists, families, and organizations, centering community and cultivating partnerships, and working to support and uplift the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band through land acknowledgements and opportunities to support them. Motion Pacific also states that it is initiating a land acknowledgement and opportunities to support the Amah Mutsun Tribal Band at the beginning of each event, workshop, and performance and is researching and enacting a responsive reparations program.
One student and community member, Kelsey K, describes Motion Pacific as “the best” and says the studio has been a “second home” and that dancing there “has basically saved my life during this time of turmoil.” Another student, Jennifer M, says she has danced at Motion Pacific since she was a little girl and that the studio environment is “incredibly supportive” and “very welcoming,” and that the events are “super fun.” A third student, Aquila S, says it is “incredibly difficult to find a studio that is welcoming to adult beginners” and that “finding Motion Pacific was wonderful,” and also states that “their children’s classes are marvelous.” A fourth community member, Johanna S, calls Motion Pacific a “home away from home,” says it has “the best variety of adult classes,” and describes the studio as “a highly inclusive space which strives to reach all corners of our community to offer dance to all” and “a beautiful dance community for all ages.”
Last updated April 14, 2026.
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