Foundation


	The Gabriella Charter School is a dance−themed independent public elementary school which was founded in 2005 by the Gabriella Axelrad Education Foundation. The school is linked financially, philosophically and administratively to the Foundation. The Gabriella Axelrad Education Foundation was established in 1999 in order to bring dance education to inner−city Los Angeles children and to broaden children’s horizons through exposure to the arts.
	The Foundation was established in memory of Gabriella Axelrad, who died in 1999 at the age of 13. It was the hope of Gabri’s family and friends that under−served Los Angeles children might receive the same joy and benefits from dance as Gabri had in her short life. Since May, 2000, when everybody dance! opened its doors in a low−income housing project just west of downtown, hundreds of children have participated in the Foundation’s ballet, jazz, tap, hip−hop, modern and creative movement classes. There are currently over 900 children enrolled in the program. Many children take dance classes three to four times weekly.
	The children dance in four state−of−the−art studios. Three studios are located in a historic Los Angeles landmark, now a model low−income housing project. The fourth studio is located in the Wilshire Center area of Los Angeles. Except for a $5 registration fee charged every four weeks, classes are free. The community’s response to everybody dance! has been overwhelming. In six years, everybody dance! has grown from 12 to 98 classes per week and there is a wait-list of 1600 students −− some waiting for as long as four years to join the program. The dance program has been featured in The Los Angeles Times, People Magazine and Family Circle Magazine and on KNBC−TV, KCBS−TV and Fox Television. The Los Angeles Times called everybody dance!’s faculty “some of the best children’s dance instructors in the world.” Anyone wishing further information should contact Liza Bercovici at (818) 728−9940 or visit the program’s website at www.everybodydance.org.

	BOARD OF DIRECTORS Bernard Beiser Managing Partner and founder, TAG Partners, LLC Wendy Beiser Arts educator and fund−raiser Liza F. Bercovici, Esq. Executive Director, Foundation Elizabeth Berman Writer, teacher, Rick Berman Productions Justine S. Bloomingdale Children’s Institute International Ronald W. Buckly, Esq. of counsel Bryan, Cave LLP; Vice President & General Counsel, Tekelec, Inc. James DeWitt Owner & Chief Executive, Marshall Tool & Supply Co. Teresa Reed Frantz Head of Science Department, Harvard−Westlake School Cindy Gauger Senior Financial Analyst at internet-based Spot Runner, Inc. Susan Gurman Principal, Gabriella Charter School Gayle Hooks Managing Director, Jazz Tap Ensemble, board of Project 730 of Crystal Stairs Foundation Charlotte Hughes Hedge Fund Manager, Osterweis and Company Tatiana Blackington James Screenwriter, former ballet dancer Robert F. MacLeod Managing Partner, Sheraton Townhouse Limited Partnership, President, Townhouse Retail Center, Inc. Talia Shire Schwartzman Actress Jaclyn Smith Actress and businesswoman Lynn Soodik, Esq. Law Offices of Lynn Soodik and Associates

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Gabriella Charter School 213-487-0839	Info@GabriellaCharterSchool.Org
Gabriella Charter School 213-487-0839	Last updated: 11/20/2007