DanceSpora, started by wife and husband dancing duo, is the first professional dance company in Trenton and they are turning five this year.
Felicia Cruz performs on left.TRENTON - The first professional contemporary dance company in Trenton is celebrating five years of dedication to the arts and diversity.
DanceSpora - resident dance company for Passage Theater - was formed by husband-wife dancing duo David Austin and Heidi Cruz-Austin in 2008 through a Philadelphia Cultural Education Center grant. Three years later the couple gained professional status.
"We're starting our fifth anniversary season this year which we're very proud of and very excited about," Austin said.
The couple - both having professional dance backgrounds - married in 2006 and began searching for places to perform in Trenton once Cruz-Austin was awarded the grant.
Cruz-Austin - originally from Allentown, Pa. - is currently an adjunct ballet professor at The University of the Arts and Temple University in Philadelphia. She began her career as the only hired African-American dancer in the Pennsylvania Ballet in 1994.
The couple said DanceSpora hires around 12 professional dancers, up from the five they originally started with, and they come from a wide range of backgrounds.
"We take all types," Austin said. "It's multi-ethnic. It's not an African-American dance company. Right now it's about half and half. We have men and women."
Austin said today's society is currently going through a change where "everything is about diversity" and DanceSpora is following in those footsteps.
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"There's still a couple institutions lagging behind, ballet being one of them," he said. "A lot of the arts in the city are polarized. It's either an event with a white turnout or black turnout. We (DanceSpora) have the most diverse audience. Everyone comes out and we're very proud of that."
Austin said he was "born and reared" on Bellevue Avenue in Trenton where he began his hip-hop training in sixth-grade.
"I was very serious about break dancing," Austin said. "I always wanted to be better than the other guys on the other side of town. I practiced, practiced, practiced and here I am now."
Austin then went on to perform with Rennie Harris Puremovement in Philadelphia. Because of his roots in Trenton and because his mother also used to teach dance in the city, Passage Theater was very receptive of DanceSpora performing with them.
Austin said the company performs at dance festivals along with the two to three shows held throughout the year at Passage Theater which gave them "a home."
With the help of Cruz-Austin's sister - professional dancer Felicia Cruz - the company took off, although they still struggle with certain aspects of running the business.
DanceSpora is a nonprofit because neither Cruz-Austin or Austin take any of the money they earn from performances.
"We're just always hoping to break even," Austin said.
Through grants, "out of pocket" money and money earned from ticket sales, the couple can pay for the dancers' salaries, costumes and staffing.
In coming years they would like to gain more partners and places to perform at as they still struggle with funding and staffing.
Cruz-Austin said the couple started the company because "we love the art."
"Not a lot of people have opportunities to see professional dance at an affordable price," Austin added. "We're committed to presenting dance at a relatively low price."
Tickets are sold for $20 for adults and $15 for students.
The couple said their commitment also lies with their family.
Cruz-Austin and Austin have a 9-year-old son and 6-year-old daughter together. Austin also has a son, 18, who attends Fairleigh Dickenson University and a 16-year-old son who lives with him and Cruz-Austin in Trenton.
Austin said Anais, 6, is the only one who takes dance lessons but the entire family is "movement-oriented."
"There can be an impromptu dance at any given moment," Cruz-Austin said.
"There was one the other day," Austin continued. "You just look into the living room and everybody's dancing, just going crazy."
The fifth anniversary season for DanceSpora kicks off on Nov. 21-22 with the "Dreams and Departures" concert featuring choreography by Cruz-Austin and her sister Felicia Cruz.
Saturday, Nov. 21, there will be two performances, one at 3 p.m. and one at 8 p.m. On Sunday, Nov. 22, there will be one performance at 3 p.m. at Passage Theater's Mill Hill Playhouse, 205 East Front St. in Trenton.
Tickets can be purchased on the DanceSpora website or by calling 609-451-0488.
Lindsay Rittenhouse may be reached at lrittenhouse@njadvancemedia.com. Find NJ.com on Facebook.
