Lula Washington Dance Theatre

What Lula Washington Dance Theatre does

Lula Washington Dance Theatre (legally Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation) is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt nonprofit organization founded in 1980 by Lula Washington and Erwin Washington in the Crenshaw/Leimert Park area of South Los Angeles. The organization operates three integrated branches: a professional repertory dance company that tours nationally and internationally, a community dance school offering classes in modern, jazz, ballet, African, tap, and hip hop to students age 3 through adult, and the foundational nonprofit that supports them. Since its founding, the company has toured 150+ cities across the U.S. and seven countries, taught more than 45,000 inner-city students, and produced dancers placed at major companies including Alvin Ailey American Dance Theatre, Philadanco, and Dayton Contemporary Dance Company.

Programming is delivered through three units. The professional company stages concert works at venues including Lincoln Center, Kennedy Center, and Joyce Theatre, and has earned major choreography credits on Disney's The Little Mermaid, James Cameron's Avatar, and NASA's Mars Millennium Project. The school operates year-round classes, an annual Summer Dance Program with separate children's, teen/adult, and pre-professional intensives, and a Youth Dance Ensemble that performs throughout Los Angeles. Signature performance products include the annual Kwanzaa Concert, the October Dance All Day Festival held in tandem with Taste of Soul, and the annual June Youth Recital at El Camino College. The Crenshaw headquarters contains five rentable studios, an indoor theater, and an outdoor stage.

Revenue is diversified across five streams: ticket and performance revenue ($15-$25 general admission, $40-$70 season packages, $250 minimum for Umoja Circle events), donations from a deep base of institutional funders (Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Ford Foundation, National Endowment for the Arts, California Arts Council, Boeing, AT&T, Walt Disney Company, Bloomberg Foundation), dance school tuition and ensemble audition fees, professional company performance bookings via dedicated booking channels, and hourly studio rentals ($25-$100) for film, rehearsal, and event use. Educational outreach is delivered through partnerships with Music Center on Tour for K-12 school assemblies and LA's Best for free K-5 after-school dance instruction. Leadership remains founder-led, with daughter Tamica Washington-Miller serving as Associate Director; the board is chaired by Dr. Bede Ssensalo.

Name

Lula Washington Dance Theatre

Legal name

Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation

Website

https://lulawashington.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1980

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Lula Washington Dance Theatre is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded in 1980 in South Los Angeles that operates a touring contemporary modern dance company, a community dance school, and youth programs reaching 45,000-plus students, sustained by ticket sales, tuition, studio rentals, and donations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

NAICS

Dance Companies (711120), Dance Companies (71112), Fine Arts Schools (61161)

SIC

Services-Amusement & Recreation Services (7900)

akta.pro primary industry

Dance Performances (THAJAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Dance Education (Ballet, Contemporary, Hip-Hop, Cultural Dance) (EDAMAAAH), Youth/Student & Community Dance Recitals (MPAGADAI), Dance Festivals & Dance Series (MPAGADAJ), Dancers, Choreographers & Dance Troupes Booking (HSACAHAD), Performing Arts Organizations (Theater, Dance, Opera, Music) (BPAGAHAB)

Keywords

• Contemporary dance performances
• Dance education services
• Performing arts
• African-American dance
• Dance school training

Headquarters

HQ city

Los Angeles

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Ticket Sales and Performance Revenue: Revenue from concert tickets, performance admissions at the studio theater and touring venues, and special event performances including the annual Kwanzaa Concert.
2. Donations and Fundraising: Relies on donations to achieve its mission. Support helps fund the school, youth ensemble, facility, professional dance company, and operations. Major institutional funders include Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, Boeing, California Arts Council, Los Angeles Department of Arts and Culture, and National Endowment for the Arts.
3. Studio Rentals: Five dance studios available for rental for film shoots, meetings, special events, rehearsals, and music recording. Studios range from $25-$100 per hour depending on size and features.
4. Dance School Tuition: Revenue from dance classes for students of all ages, including regular classes, Summer Dance Program, and intensive workshops for young adult dancers.
5. Dance Company Bookings: Revenue from booking the professional dance company for performances at various venues and events.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Lula Washington Dance Theatre operates a professional contemporary modern dance company that tours nationally and internationally, and a dance school offering multi-discipline training in ballet, modern, jazz, African dance, tap, and hip hop. Revenue is generated through ticket sales, performance bookings, dance class tuition, studio rentals, and signature annual productions such as the Kwanzaa Concert, Youth Recital, and Dance All Day Festival. The non-profit organization supplements earned income with donations, grants, and corporate sponsorships to fund its school, youth ensemble, facility, and professional company.

Product overview

Lula Washington Dance Theatre operates as a unified organization consisting of three branches: the Lula Washington Dance Theatre Company (a world-class contemporary modern dance ensemble that tours internationally), the Lula Washington Dance Theatre School (providing dance education and training in modern, jazz, ballet, African dance, and tap), and the Lula Washington Contemporary Dance Foundation (the non-profit parent organization). The company offers supplementary programs including studio rentals, Youth Dance Ensemble, Summer Dance Program, Master Dance Classes, and signature performances including the Kwanzaa Concert, Youth Recital, and Dance All Day Festival.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• 45,000+ students taught since 1983 through the dance school program
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core, major and minor.

• Music Center on TourcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLWDT works with Music Center on Tour, which books the company for performances at K-12 schools in the Greater Los Angeles Area and throughout Southern California. Performances occur during school assemblies as part of the normal school day, bringing educational, historical, cultural, and inspiring dance to schools.
• LA's BestcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorLWDT sends company dancers into LA's BEST campuses to teach dance styles to K-5 students, 2 days per week after normal school hours. The program is completely free for participants. Lula Washington played an integral role in the late 1980s as LA's BEST was being piloted.
• James Cameron / 20th Century FoxmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLula Washington choreographed cultural/ritual movements including war scenes, hunting, and large dance sequences for the motion capture technology in the film Avatar (2009). Her 'third eye - I See You' concept became a central focus of the film.
• DisneymajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLula Washington choreographed Disney's The Little Mermaid movie, including 'Under The Sea' which won an Academy Award.
• International Association of Blacks in Dance (IABD)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerLWDT is a founding member of IABD. Performs annually at the IABD Conference and Festival alongside other premiere black dance companies.
• NASAminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerIn 1995, NASA selected Lula Washington to choreograph for its Mars Millennium Project educational video depicting dance in the first human colony on Mars.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Complexions Contemporary Ballet: Contemporary dance company founded by Desmond Richardson and Dwight Rhoden, performing works that fuse classical and contemporary styles with broad international touring. Comparable in scale and touring footprint to LWDT.
• Dallas Black Dance Theatre: Major African-American contemporary dance company in Dallas with an associated academy and outreach programming. Competes directly for touring engagements, school partnerships, and Black arts funding.
• Philadanco: Philadelphia-based African-American contemporary dance company founded by Joan Myers Brown. Directly comparable as a Black dance company with a school, touring ensemble, and educational outreach; alumni overlap with LWDT.
• Dayton Contemporary Dance Company: One of the oldest continuously operating African-American dance companies with a school component. Comparable as a legacy Black dance organization producing contemporary works rooted in African-American culture.
• Garth Fagan Dance: Buffalo-based contemporary dance company known for blending modern, Afro-Caribbean, and ballet vocabulary. LWDT alumni have placed dancers here, and the choreographic fusion model is closely aligned.
• Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater: Premier African-American contemporary dance company in New York. The most direct comparable to LWDT — operates both a renowned professional touring troupe and an affiliated school (Ailey Extension), competes for the same donor and venue pool, and trains a similar dance style.
• Cleo Parker Robinson Dance: Denver-based African-American dance company with education, outreach, and touring programs. A scaled peer in mission, audience, and programming to LWDT.

Broad incumbents

• Martha Graham Dance Company: One of the oldest and most prominent American modern dance companies with a global brand, school, and licensing program. Broader incumbent with overlapping audience but a much wider repertoire and budget base.
• Mark Morris Dance Group: Larger contemporary dance organization with an associated school and extensive national touring. Overlaps with LWDT in offering both performance and educational programming at scale.

Emerging players

• Ailey II: The second company of Alvin Ailey, functioning as a bridge between professional dance and emerging talent. Comparable to LWDT's Youth Dance Ensemble and pre-professional intensives in mission and pipeline function.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/LulaWashingtonDanceTheatre
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/lula-washington-dance-theatre

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Lula Washington Dance Theatre