Patti Rutland Jazz

Patti Rutland Jazz is a contemporary dance company founded by choreographer Patti Rutland.

Performance

Patti Rutland Jazz produces two full length contemporary jazz and hip-hop theatrical dance productions each year in their home city of Dothan, AL. These performances take place in one of two theatres in Dothan: their home theatre at The Cultural Arts Center, and also Dothan's historical landmark theatre, The Dothan Opera House. Patti Rutland Jazz also tours yearly and performs at various dance festivals such as Jazz on Tap in Atlanta, GA and Panoply Festival of the Arts in Huntsville, AL. Patti Rutland Jazz also hires out various customized performance programs to school and civic organizations to further promote and educate audiences on dance as an artform, and more specifically the contemporary jazz dance and hip-hop styles that have made Patti Rutland a sought after choreographer and master teacher.

Outreach

1. ATMOSPHERE

Patti Rutland Jazz (PRJ) was founded in 1989 by Patti Rutland. After the early years as a studio-centric, amateur dance company, PRJ's mission changed and in 2006 became a 501(C)(3) Non-Profit Corporation driven by a semi-professional company. The new core mission of PRJ is primarily to provide dance scholarship opportunities to under-served children in Dothan, AL and surrounding "Wiregrass Region" communities through its Outreach Program. To that end, PRJ operates a well-respected performance dance company of young adults from many varying and cooperative dance studios, colleges and civic organizations from all over the Southeast as well as professional dancers and choreographers from around the United States. The dancers in this company are the essential resource necessary to provide the teachers that make these classes possible. Through the diverse representation of multiple studios and disciplines, PRJ is able to offer these children a wider array of training as well as unbiased exposure to the many dance resources available to them beyond our program. Without the dance company, there would be no outreach.

While PRJ's creative identity has emerged as a jazz, contemporary and hip-hop company; yearly in August, auditions are held to recast for the following season which are open to any dancer and welcome all disciplines of dance. This new multilateral approach provides the atmosphere, vision and opportunity that makes PRJ one of the most compelling and innovative civic dance companies in the Southeast.

2. VISION

This year, PRJ will provide over $50,000.00 in scholarship money so that 75+ children can take weekly dance classes taught by company members. Through this outreach program, they enable children to enjoy the enrichment, character development and positive benefits that come from an involvement in dance. Dance is an extremely effective tool for the development of strong work ethics, self-determination, self-esteem, positive attitude and respect for others. PRJ wants all of their dancers to be well-rounded, culturally aware and internally enriched individuals who will remain lovers and supporters of the arts for a lifetime.

3. OPPORTUNITY

By nurturing the needs of children who would not otherwise be introduced or afforded the opportunity to dance, PRJ feeds the pool of talent and art appreciators in their community.

By nurturing the needs of their audience through evolving performance, they are able to reinvest their energy, money and support back into the future dancer.

Through their connections to the professional dance world, they are able to give back to the very studios, colleges and civic organizations from which the company dancers originate by offering master classes, workshops and seminars that would otherwise be too costly or elusive for just one organization to afford.

PRJ's mission is a truly cyclical and symbiotic relationship between the dancer, their home studio and the audience.

External links

• Patti Rutland Jazz