Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Organization

M.A.D.D. Rhythms’ mission is to preserve, promote and contribute to this art form called tap. We will teach its history, represen...Learn more

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Bril Barrett is fundraising
Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Fund
Please, help M.A.D.D. Rhythms continue to keep making a difference...DANCING RHYTHMS!

At M.A.D.D. Rhythms we do more than just tap dance: We teach tap's history, represent its culture, and advocate for its future; We share this beautiful Black art form in order to make a difference in the under-served communities of this world; We give people a chance at a more positive life by making the arts more accessible.

The Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms (M.A.D.D. Rhythms) tap dance company was founded twenty years ago by Bril Barrett and Martin “Tre” Dumas III when they realized that there was a blight of arts programming on the South and West Sides of Chicago. Their mission: To develop the minds of under served Chicago youth and surround them with a positive environment. The result was the M.A.D.D. Rhythms dance company, which not only thrives today, but has expanded to include the M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy, a dance studio whose policy is “we won’t turn anyone away”, which has launched the careers of some of the world’s most famous tap dancers. We’re also excited to announce, as of November, 2020, the new non-profit arm of the company, the Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Organization.

But we want to do more! Click here to find out how you can help us.

We need your help to accomplish our ambitious goals for 2021, 2022...and beyond! Our acclaimed community programming and resulting high-caliber of tap dancing are what sets M.A.D.D. Rhythms apart from other dance companies. We operate primarily on the South and West Sides of Chicago — which are both historically under-served in arts programming — which means that support from you makes an immediate positive impact in these areas.

*Learn more about our Board of Directors and the new Advisory Board on our website:

MADD Rhythms Advisory Board

We Care About Tap Dancers

We've joined forces with the Martha Struthers Farley and Donald C. Farley, Jr. Family Foundation to create the Individual Tap Artist (ITA) Grant for financial relief due to, but not limited to, COVID-19. The ITA Grant will be offered as an annual, unrestricted monetary grant of $5,000 for Chicago-based tap dancers so that they can afford, as Bril Barrett puts it, "to continue to be tap dancers." With your support, we would like to expand this grant to better help tap dancers affected by financial loss due to COVID and even the hardships of living life as an artist.

*Read about the ITA Grant in this article in BroadwayWorld:

" Tap Artists Receive Annual Unrestricted Grant Offering Support Due to COVID 19 "

Click here to see how you can help us maintain adequate and safe facilities!

Creation of New Works

M.A.D.D. Rhythms is committed to keeping the dance alive, even during a pandemic, and has a full season of new work coming out in 2021. We have new work planned to coincide with Black History Month, Women's History Month, Jazz Appreciation Month, National Tap Dance Day and more... but making these videos costs $$$! You will see your support represented every time we release new works of tap dance art. (Go You!)

*Check out our YouTube page for regularly updated examples of our outstanding work:

MADD on YouTube

Click here to see how YOU can become a producer on a new work from MADD Rhythms!

The Chicago Tap Summit

In October of last year, we were able to successfully convert our annual Chicago Tap Summit dance festival to an all virtual experience and we’re looking to make the 2021 Summit bigger, better and more inclusive than ever before. We annually give out dozens of scholarships to local children on Chicago’s South and West sides so that they can experience the joys of being a part of the tap dance community and receive expert training.

*For more info on the 2021 Chicago Tap Summit, please visit our website:

The MADD Rhythms Tap Summit

Click here to find out how you can become a producer for the MADD Rhythms Chicago Tap Summit!

Outstanding Community Programming

We've always been and always will put the local community first. Helping us directly helps the residents of Chicago's South-side and West-side neighborhoods have access to physical education programs that are disproportionately inaccessible in other parts of the city.

Learn more about our community programming at:
The MADD Rhythms Tap Academy

Find out how you can support a tap dancer in need TODAY by clicking here .

Renovations, Refurbishments and Re-Invention

The M.A.D.D. Rhythms Tap Academy dance studio at the Harold Washington Cultural Center is a home-away-from-home for children and adult tap dancers alike. We are committed to creating and maintaining a modern facility that is safe, up to date and welcoming.

The Tap Academy has recently undergone several renovations, including the addition of full-length mirrors in three studios, the installation of plexiglass barriers for the safety of our receptionist (who is also Dir. Bril Barrett’s mom, Audrey Barrett, a.k.a. Mama Rhythms!), built a modern podcast recording studio and installed artwork donated by local artists William Friederking and John Nasko.

While safety and a welcoming environment are important, we are still in dire need of fundamental studio necessities such as a professionally installed sprung hardwood floor ($10,000-$15,000), refurbishment of our portable tap floor system, new electrical equipment (video, audio, lighting), marketing support, custodial maintenance and technical support.

MADD Rewards

Your donation is especially important to us and we would like to show you our appreciation with some of our MADD merch:

$49 and below
We will mention you in our weekly “thank you” posts across all our social media platforms — Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

$50
We will send you one of our #MADDSupport pins and a letter of appreciation.

$100
We will send you one of our #MADDSupport pins, a letter of appreciation and one of our popular MADD T-shirt designs.

$250
We will send you all the MADD merch listed below, plus a personalized letter from director Bril Barrett.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg! We have a whole range of ways that you can support MADD Rhythms—and become eligible for some really cool and extremely rare opportunities, like special teaching and performance options for individuals/studios, personalized messages from world-famous tap dancers and how you can put your name on a piece of tap dance history!

Click here to see our entire catalog donation and reward tiers!

Where can I see M.A.D.D. Rhythm's work?

There's so much happening with M.A.D.D. Rhythms right now and you're probably wondering: How can I keep up to date with the latest news, updates and information on community programs and see/hear new original tap dance content?

Follow along on our journey weekly across all your favorite social media platforms:

The MADD 20th Anniversary Fundraiser

www.MADDRhythms.com

www.youtube.com/maddrhythms

www.facebook.com/maddrhythms

Instagram: @maddrhythms

If you've made it this far, why not go all the way and support our mission to respect the dance. We thank you for your help and
RESPECT THE DANCE!

#MADDAppreciation #MADDSupport #MADDThanks #MADDRespect
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33 supporters
Davon Suttles is fundraising
Past The Heavens

Company statement

Exploring stories of marginalized people through tap dance, original music and multimedia arts. Creating an arts conglomerate by and for queer, bipoc, and other marginalized people.

Director bio

Davon Suttles(they/he) is an emerging artist in Chicago, who grew up studying and performing American tap dance in Keane Sense of Rhythm’s Youth Tap Ensemble. Davon is also an actor and an alumnus of both Saint Paul Conservatory for Performing Artists and Columbia College Chicago’s Musical Theatre Performance program. In 2019, Davon received the Cultural Community Partnership Grant from the Minnesota State Arts Board for their first self produced work MELANIZED, a multimedia tap dance show about living as a person of color. This show addressed macro- and microaggressions towards POC while showcasing the beauty of living as a POC. Davon is a past member of Stone Soup Rhythms, under Dani Borak and has performed with the Children's Theatre Company in Shrek the Musical and bare: A Pop Opera. In 2018, they were a featured dancer in the new hit adaption of 42nd Street at Drury Lane Oakbrook Terrace, choreographed by Broadway performer, Jared Grimes. And in the Fall 2019, Davon returned to Drury Lane to join the ensemble of Mary Poppins. Currently, Davon is dancing with M.A.D.D. Rhythms, a non profit tap company based on the South Side of Chicago, whose mission is to preserve, promote, and contribute to this art form called tap.

About the show

The concept of this show was born from a journal entry I wrote one morning a few years ago -

“What would life be like if we reached past the heavens? Past the too often suffocating values of religions, specifically for queer youth. How can we strive for values that would better society as whole? Values that would discourage hatred of all kinds and spread unconditional love for all”.

How could I take the feelings of exclusion I felt as a young queer individual in church and while also sharing another perspective that could be completely opposite and synergize that into a theatrical experience? I began to contemplate how I could write gospel music that was empowering, but that was not framed by its religious trappings and often alienating beliefs.

The show will follow 5 queer individuals and their relationship with religion. Some positive, some negative, some uplifting, some heartbreaking.

I speak more about my process of conceptualizing this project in an interview with Pivot arts:

“PA: Pivot Arts will be presenting your work Past the Heavens, as part of the upcoming Memory Place project. The piece explores queer relationships with religion. What inspired you to dive into this relationship in particular?

DS: I think that gospel music is probably one of the most underrated music genres period! Especially when you take into account the impact it’s had on pretty much every music genre stemming from the African diaspora, and the impact those have had not only in American culture but globally! So I had originally conceptualized this show solely as an ensemble of tap dancers, dancing to some fun arrangements of old gospel songs then throwing in a few songs of my own! But as of recently I’ve been on a journey of self healing my childhood wounds, and I know many of queer people have tumultuous relationships with religion, myself included, so I really wanted to explore why for many religious communities that preach the necessity of spreading love and communal support, but then live the antithesis of said lifestyle, especially when it comes to people of the queer community. So I decided that no matter what, when I decide to do this show, that relationship must be explored.

Needs

In order for this project to reach its maximum potential, we’ll need a little help from our community! We are asking for a total of $1,500 in donations. Funds raised will cover the payment of each artist performing, pay for the travel of our co-composer, purchase costumes that not only add to the comprehension of the narrative, but also makes our performers feel confident! Any extra money will go towards the future full length production of Past The Heavens!

Thanks to our fiscal sponsor MADD Rhythms (a 501(c)3 organization), if you choose to graciously donate, all contributions are tax-deductible.

We hope you are able to donate but if you aren’t spreading the word is just as valuable!

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12 supporters

About Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Organization

M.A.D.D. Rhythms’ mission is to preserve, promote and contribute to this art form called tap. We will teach its history, represent its culture and advocate for its future. We will use this beautiful dance/music form to make a difference in the underserved communities of this world by connecting and caring for the youth of this world. We believe that having access and options gives a child a greater chance at a positive life. Therefore, we will spread the joy, love, discipline and expression of tap to as many children as we humanly can!

113 S. St. Louis AveChicago, IL 60624

Find Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Organization at

Causes

Dance

Established

2019

Tax ID

30-0241646

NTEE code

Dance

Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Organization is a 501(c)(3) public charity, EIN 30-0241646. Donations are tax-deductible. Select content is provided by GuideStar.

Recent Donations

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Michael McStraw donated to Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Fund
$2506 mos
Samuel Blazevic-Seibert donated to Past The Heavens
$2511 mos
ANAMARIA MATOS donated to Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Fund
$1001 yr
Hillary Whorlow donated to Making A Difference Dancing Rhythms Fund
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Nic Gareiss donated to Past The Heavens
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