CULTURE SHOCK CANADA .com -- Outreach --

Culture Shock Canada has made it part of their mandate to maintain a continuous connection with their respective communities. By participating in community outreach programs, local youth are given the opportunity to attend weekly hip hop classes and become a part of a community dance troupe. They are encouraged to contribute to the development of choreography where they develop leadership skills that will enable them to become community leaders, Future Shock or Culture Shock dancers and even instructors developing their own hip hop dance programs.

It is without question that today's youth are prone to inactive and even sedentary lifestyles. Through the power of music and dance, Culture Shock Canada's Youth Outreach Hip Hop Programs have been a proven positive fitness alternative among young people.

In early 1999, Culture Shock launched its pilot youth outreach project in the Carlington Community in south-west Ottawa. Since then, youth organizations throughout the region and even nationally, have been getting involved in offering hip hop classes in their communities. Thanks to municipal, provincial and federal grants, Culture Shock Canada Youth Outreach classes have been offered free of charge to youth of all ages, races and gendre. These programs take place on a weekly or contractual basis in various key communities in Ottawa, Toronto, Montreal and Hamilton.

The vision of Culture Shock Canada serves to use Hip Hop dance as a tool to promote positive values amongst individuals through youth outreach, community classes, and social interactions. Dance continues to be an important tool for preventative social work. Through Culture Shock Canada's Youth Outreach Programs, individuals have the opportunity to become leaders in the communities in which they live, while honing a new skill and talent through hip hop music and dance.

Those who live in poverty become more vulnerable to calamities that include violence and unhealthy practices. This vulnerability does not exclude youth. Earlier existence of hip hop dancing has demonstrated that after-school programs can reduce security incidents and vandalism among youth. Most noteworthy are Culture Shock Canada's Youth Outreach Programs. In past years, security reports involving six to eleven year olds have been reduced by 50% in Ottawa's Carlington community alone.

Our well established outreach programs touch many of Ottawa, Toronto, Hamilton and Montreal as well as their surrounding areas' social housing communities. Over 600 youth have attended our various programs and many have benefited from our Youth Sponsorship Program.

Youth Coordinators and the Youth Outreach Director will select youth from each of Culture Shock Canada's youth outreach programs. These youth will have had shown leadership through outstanding commitment, attendance, positive attitude, dedication, cooperation, respect and peer support.

The sponsorship will allow those chosen, access to all Culture Shock Canada company classes free of charge. Duration of these sponsorships may vary, but recipients of the Annual Youth Outreach Leadership awards will have one full year's access! All will have the opportunity to take classes and train with most of Culture Shock Canada's dancers, some of which have been featured on the "Cardio Hip Hop" TV show and others who have travelled the world teaching workshops and taking classes with some of the best dancers and choreographers in the business. The goal is to empower them to take hip hop dancing to new heights. They will also be given the opportunity to audition for Future Shock and Culture Shock's dance troupes which may in turn offer them employment opportunities.

On the afternoon of June 21st, 2003, several youth dance groups took a bow and completed another chapter in Culture Shock Canada's youth outreach program history. The first ever Youth Outreach Extravaganza (organized by Culture Shock Canada) showcased the many successful youth programs offered in Ottawa. The youth show, appropriately titled "A Moment Like This" personified the dance troupe's powerful mission to improve the well being and opportunity of youth and other community members.

In using hip hop dance, Culture Shock offers youth many moments for them to showcase their talents and skills. Through the challenge and thrills of performing on stage to the making up and teaching of choreography, youth are given many special moments in time. As they are positively reinforced to experience these moments, their well being and opportunity to fulfill a more positive lifestyle increases, thus helping achieve the goal of Culture Shock's Canada's youth outreach program.

Each spring, experience youth talent at its best and support Culture Shock Canada's mission by attending this showcase. The popularity will only grow as Culture Shock youth groups and invited youth groups from all over the world are invited to perform.