The Wooden Floor

On Saturday during our Virtual Annual Auditions, children and their families took the first step towards their 10-year journeys at The Wooden Floor. Although online auditions aren’t ideal, we are so proud of the little ones who bravely showed up and gave it their all. Thank you to our staff, students, alumni, and supporters for once again coming together for our community and working tirelessly to continue providing our Annual Auditions! #Auditions #TheWoodenFloor #OrangeCounty #SantaAna #ArtsEducation #DanceEducation #DanceIsTheAnswer #FromHereYouCanStepAnywhere

Today we kicked off our first ever virtual auditions! Welcome brave and beautiful dancers - this is a new experience for us too. We join you with open arms and caring hearts. Best of luck to all of our little auditionees!

To all high school students at The Wooden Floor: join us TODAY, February 4 at 4:30pm for our Virtual College Tour Series at Smith College! Throughout our Virtual College Tour Series, alumni and college representatives will lead virtual campus tours where you can ask questions about campus life, different majors, and explore options for your future college career. Visit the Student Portal at TheWoodenFloor.org/Students for Zoom links and meeting details. ... #CollegeTour #VirtualCollegeTour #ArtsEducation #HigherEducation #College #TheWoodenFloor #DanceIsTheAnswer #FromHereYouCanStepAnywhere #SmithCollege #OrangeCounty #SantaAna

To all high school students at The Wooden Floor: join us this week on Thursday, November 5 at 4:00pm for our Virtual College Tour Series, this time taking you to California State University, Fullerton! Throughout our Virtual College Tour Series, alumni and college representatives will lead virtual campus tours where you can ask questions about campus life, different majors, and explore options for your future college career. Visit TheWoodenFloor.org/Students-Only for Zoom ...links and meeting details. #CollegeTour #VirtualCollegeTour #ArtsEducation #HigherEducation #College #TheWoodenFloor #DanceIsTheAnswer #FromHereYouCanStepAnywhere #CSUF #OrangeCounty #SantaAna

The Wooden Floor has provided an opportunity for me to collaborate with staff who are committed to each student’s transformational journey. As a dance educator and choreographer, I have witnessed the power of dance inside and outside of our studios, where students become the best version of themselves. Every day is an opportunity for me to share my passion for my craft with students, staff, artists, and our community. Falon Baltzell, Artistic Director Congratulations to F...alon on her 3rd anniversary at The Wooden Floor! As our Artistic Director, Falon fosters a culture of artistic excellence and strengthens The Wooden Floor’s mission and values through her vision and execution of all artistic elements for the organization. Falon is responsible for the administration of the dance education team and programs, teaching classes, choreographing and overseeing our Annual Concert, and recruiting innovative artists to work with our students all to ensure that the dance education and artistic programs are integrated with wrap around services to support the 10-year journeys for our students. Thank you, Falon, for always demonstrating artistic excellence in all that you do! #StaffAnniversary #TheWoodenFloor #SantaAna #OrangeCounty #ArtsEducation #DanceEducation #StaffHighlight

To all our high school students join us for Virtual Career Day Series: Marketing and Social Media this week on Thursday, October 22 at 4:00pm! Speakers: Simonne Kennedy-Moore, Client Solutions Manager at Enterprise at LinkedIn Elsa Guillen, Social Media Influencer Coordinator at Too Faced Cosmetics... The Wooden Floor Marketing Team Launched in 2010, our Career Day Series helps bridge the gap between students’ dreams and reality for their future career pursuits through conversations with professionals from a variety of fields. Visit TheWoodenFloor.org/Students-Only for Zoom links and meeting details. #CareerDay #TheWoodenFloor #ArtsEducation #OrangeCounty #SantaAna #FromHereYouCanStepAnywhere

My life’s purpose is to help others discover the tools from within to find their own purpose, and The Wooden Floor’s mission is in perfect alignment with that. Brandon Gernux, College & Career Readiness Coordinator Congratulations to Brandon on his 1st anniversary at The Wooden Floor! Brandon is the go-to person for our high school students and families for all things college-related such as financial aid, college applications, scholarships, career pathways, and acceptances. As our students wrap up their 10-year journeys, Brandon also provides personalized guidance as they become alumni. Thank you, Brandon, for your hard work as an invaluable resource to our students! #StaffAnniversary #TheWoodenFloor #SantaAna #OrangeCounty #ArtsEducation #DanceEducation #StaffHighlight

The Wooden Floor Board Member Alix E. Portillo, who served as our first Alumni Representative on our Board of Directors, was featured by the Anaheim Ducks Foundation for National Hispanic Heritage Month! As a key role model to many of our organization’s students throughout their 10-year journeys, Alix is a testament to The Wooden Floor’s mission, and change agent within our community. Thank you, Anaheim Ducks Foundation, for the feature! #AnaheimDucks #AnaheimDucksFoundation #NationalHispanicHeritageMonth

We are humbled to share great news! Although we could not gather for what would have been The Wooden Floor’s 14th Annual Keep the Promise Wine Tasting Benefit, we achieved our goal of raising over $300,000 through a generous community of individuals, companies and corporations to ensure our year-round programs sustain high quality results for our students, today and in years to come. This year, without event-related costs, 100% of funds will directly provide essential servic...es to our 475 students and their families, which is especially important during these challenging times. We thank our sponsors who help us to the keep the promise we make to our students on day one of their 10-year journey: from here, you can step anywhere. See our full sponsor list here: TheWoodenFloor.org/WineTasting #KeepThePromise #TheWoodenFloor #Support #Community #Nonprofit #OrangeCounty #SantaAna #WineBenefit #NewportBeach #FromHereYouCanStepAnywhere

A few weeks ago, we had our first Coffee with The Wooden Floor of the fall session, a monthly virtual gathering where we provide updates, answer any questions, and create a space for open discussions. Over 40 parents shared their silver linings of quarantine, such as more family time and the strong connection they’ve maintained with The Wooden Floor. If you’re a parent of The Wooden Floor, contact Kimberly Hernandez, our Student Development Manager, to join us for next month’s Coffee with The Wooden Floor! #TheWoodenFloor #Community #ArtsEducation #DanceEducation #OrangeCounty #SantaAna #FamilyServices

#FlashbackFriday to The Wooden Floor’s 20th anniversary celebration of the opening of our Main Street flagship location! 21 years ago today, The Wooden Floor welcomed our students, families, and supporters into our location on Main Street where we have seen hundreds of children transform through the power of dance and access to higher education. #TheWoodenFloor #Anniversary #ArtsEducation #DanceEducation #OrangeCounty #SantaAna

To all high school students at The Wooden Floor: join us tomorrow on Thursday, October 8 at 4:00pm for our first Virtual College Tour Series of the fall session at the University of Redlands! Throughout our Virtual College Tour Series, alumni and college representatives will lead virtual campus tours where you can ask questions about campus life, different majors, and explore options for your future college career. Visit TheWoodenFloor.org/Students-Only for Zoom links and ...meeting details. #CollegeTour #VirtualCollegeTour #ArtsEducation #HigherEducation #College #TheWoodenFloor #DanceIsTheAnswer #FromHereYouCanStepAnywhere #UniversityOfRedlands #OrangeCounty #SantaAna

Improvisation can be intimidating or even scary because you create movement on the spot, showing what you know and who you are. There is a vulnerability to it, but by dressing up as someone else, a number of students said they felt freer to make more confident choices. Many of them moved in ways I have not seen them move in the 7-8 years I've known them. They were brave and bold and didn't judge or edit themselves. Miss Jenn, Dance Education and Curriculum Specialist Here...’s a look into Miss Jenn’s Improvisation 8 class! By integrating improvisation in our year-round curriculum, we’re furthering our students’ life skills through Communication, Collaboration, Critical Thinking, Creativity, Character, as well as Courage. When dance is a catalyst for change, innovation flourishes into courageous life-changing outcomes. #DanceEducation #Improvisation #TheWoodenFloor #VirtualLearning #ArtsEducation #DanceIsTheAnswer #OrangeCounty #SantaAna

As we settle into a new virtual setup for our fall session, we’ve integrated our academic services so our students continue to receive our essential programs which support them in school. Our tutors are back and excited to see our students, our Student Support Services staff kickstarted The Next Step program with a welcome gathering, and our college and career readiness workshops for Career Days and College Tours will start soon! #AcademicServices #Tutoring #VirtualLearning #TheNextStep #College #TheWoodenFloor #ArtsEducation #SantaAna #OrangeCounty #FallSession

We’re one month into our virtual fall session and dance classes are in full swing on Zoom! Students from all dance levels are with our dance faculty and accompanists in ballet, modern, and improvisation classes. #TheWoodenFloor #FirstDay #DanceIsTheAnswer #OrangeCounty #SantaAna #ArtsEducation #DanceEducation #FallSession