Nonprofit adaptability and innovation are crucial to meeting our community’s needs. That’s especially true in the arts—where creativity is central not only to their programming, but also to how they operate.

Fort Wayne Dance Collective (FWDC) embodies this approach, continually evolving to best serve our community as a nonprofit arts organization whose mission is to inspire people of all identities, abilities, and stages of life through movement arts. One way they accomplish this is through their unique model as a makerspace for movement.

Makerspace for Movement

“People don’t often think of dance when they think of makerspaces—but that’s also because they don’t often think of dancers when they think of artists. Dancers are artists, and the only tool they need is their body. We don’t even really need music,” said Mandie Kolkman, Fort Wayne Dance Collective Artistic Director. “But that doesn’t mean that there aren’t resources dancers need to be able to learn, explore, collaborate, grow, and make mistakes. We see our position in the community as being a resource to help them do so.”

In addition to offering affordable studio rental rates, they also offer mental, physical, and emotional support to community members.

Saying Yes

“Where in Fort Wayne would you go to make something? To showcase it? The answer is plentiful for visual arts, but not so much for movement arts. We’re meeting a real need in our arts and cultural community,” said Mandie.

“But where to go isn’t the only question artists have when they have an idea they want—or need—to bring to life. How do you market it? How do you work with a lighting designer? How do you turn ideation into presentation, into audience absorption, into perception and understanding? We’re proud to have evolved our makerspace to address all of those things, and help artists see it through from start to finish.” 

“Being told no is the verbal manifestation of a barrier, whether it’s cost, accessibility, or emotional support. That’s why, as a makerspace, we have two “rules”— we listen, and we say yes. It’s about meeting people where they are, overcoming barriers, and instilling confidence. You’d be surprised at how you can transform someone’s life just by saying yes. That’s what makes this model so impactful, and has led to innovative, meaningful projects.”

These projects have included dancers working with paint, shadows, fabric, projections, spoken word, and more; and they’ve explored mental health, suicide, death, marriage, race, and other topics.

“When you have trauma, it resides in the body,” said Mandie. “Movement is cathartic, and has been ingrained in humanity since the beginning of time. It has been proven to help you process and heal.” 

Dance is Therapeutic

One project that manifested out of FWDC’s makerspace was Rescue #MeToo, by Faith Patterson. Faith is a Fort Wayne resident who experienced sexual assault. After experiencing sexual assault, she used Fort Wayne Dance Collective’s space to process and heal, creating a piece about sexual assault awareness.

“I was 17 when I was assaulted, and it made me go into a depression. My mom wanted to help me find joy in life again, and since I had been doing Zumba, we thought I should give dance a try. Fort Wayne Dance Collective welcomed me, and when I could not express my trauma, dance let me speak without using words.”

– Faith Patterson

This experience not only helped Faith process her trauma and share what she learned with our community.  It also helped her grow from a student to a choreographer—a role in which she continues to flourish as she was invited to help choreograph Fort Wayne Dance Collective’s annual Halloween show, Spectacle of Spirits.

'Spectacle of Spirits' tech rehearsal featuring FWDC artists and Faith performing her choreographed piece in 'Spectacle of Spirits'

From Dancer to Professional

In FWDC’s annual Halloween show, community members are invited to create and have a hands-on role in producing this show. In 2022, they celebrated their 13th annual show, Spectacle of Spirits.

This year's fantastical tale emanated from Mexican culture and resolved in a beautiful celebration for Día de los Muertos. Spectacle of Spirits was performed by Fort Wayne Dance Collective's professional artists, on-site students, and outreach students. Dancers, singers, and aerialists from our local arts community, along with guest performance groups Amaneceres De Mexico (Fort Wayne, IN) and Calpulli Mexican Dance Company (New York, New York) joined the performance as well.

'Spectacle of Spirits' tech rehearsal featuring Calpulli Mexican Dance Company (New York, NY)

“95% of communities don’t have what we offer," said Mandie. "My colleague Ashley and I talk about it a lot—as dancers, how much more creative could we have been with access to resources like what we offer now? How different would our lives be? Our goal is to provide those opportunities to everyone in our community.”

Thank you, Fort Wayne Dance Collective, for being a champion of opportunity for Allen County residents!