Make a difference in the life of children like Rafa today!

Your support will keep our doors open and sustain programming for all ages

Make a difference in the life of children like Rafa today! image

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Your support will keep our doors open and sustain programming for all ages

You can keep the doors open!

Can you remember a moment when you were so overcome with joy that your eyes closed and for a split second your heart lifted and you felt as if you were soaring? Those are the moments to live for, and those are the moments you can make happen for our community by supporting the arts.

You can keep students dancing.

You can safeguard free programming for underserved youth.

You can ensure live ballet performances grace the stage when theaters re-open.

When COVID-19 closed the doors to schools and businesses, Neglia found a way to keep students dancing. In a matter of days, dedicated staff launched Zoom ballet training for all levels. Neglia did everything we could to keep our students dancing safely at home, including distributing portable dance floors. Despite the hardships so many faced, and continue to face, Neglia finds ways to safely provide services for both children and adults...even if it has to be one llama (6 feet) apart.

We believe in our students, in our community, and in the promise of brighter days ahead. Making ballet accessible to everyone is a core value of our mission and TOGETHER WE CAN KEEP THE DOORS WIDE OPEN!

Right now our serviceability and class capacity are limited. We've had to cancel performances and adjust community programs, but we won’t stop dancing! Just $10 a month can help an inspired child do their first plié at the barre. $25 a month can give an entire class of underserved students a free ballet workshop when restrictions are lifted.


Meet Rafa:

Rafael (Rafa) first came to came to Neglia in 2019 for our Boys Dance Too! FREE summer workshop.

Artistic Director and Instructor Sergio Neglia said, "When I meet someone, by the eyes I get to know the person, the personality. Rafa, I couldn’t quite read at first...but once I started teaching him, I saw a passion for dance. He is extremely smart and passionate and the way I teach him, he absorbs it. Unusual for boys at the age he is. He is a bit like me, actually. I never had any insecurities, he doesn’t either. He knows where he stands, he’s not afraid because he dances.

Boys come for all different reasons. Some want to improve their flexibility, coordination or strength to complement a sport, some see The Nutcracker and want to try it too, and others, like Rafa, come because they are curious. As Rafa says, “life was just going along, like it usually did before I started ballet, and then Mom signed me up for ballet, and...it turned out I LOVED IT!"

Rafa’s mom said it was “Neglia’s great reputation in the community” that brought her to look into our programs. “I was interested in finding a short, time-limited ballet experience for him, to see whether he liked it before making a longer commitment. I also liked the idea that there would be other boys there he could talk to and enjoy the class with.” With that in mind she signed Rafa up for the free two-week boys program.

Now, almost two years later, Rafa is dancing year-round and becoming more passionate about ballet. Last fall he performed as a mouse in The Nutcracker and says “I definitely want to be in The Nutcracker again, it was fun!”

Making ballet accessible to everyone is a core value of our mission, and we are proud to open doors for kids like Rafa to experience ballet without putting stress or strain on families. "Rafael loves ballet, and he loves his teachers. We're seeing increased strength, great coordination, and the discipline that comes of dedicating himself fully to this craft! Who knows where it will take him in the future?" - Rafa's mom Kristina

Rafa, although young, knows what he likes and he says, “I like ballet because it helps me relax, and think about things, and just be myself.” He even has some words of advice for others interested in trying, “never think that you are not right for it, or don't belong there, because you can be anything you want!”


When you were a kid, do you ever remember being told you couldn’t try something new because it wasn’t easily available to you or you feared being criticized for trying? For a multitude of reasons this happens all the time. Neglia aims to eliminate many of those reasons by providing free and low cost programs, workshops, performances, trial classes and zoom classes in a welcoming environment.

Neglia opens doors for kids like Rafa, and you can too.

Below, check out Rafa's progress during Zoom training in May with Sergio..."Give me the sugar!"