A collage of photos shows people dancing and posing in a studio under pink lighting and in a bright room with large windows.

STUDIO ED + BGS STUDIOS NEEDS YOUR HELP!Over the weekend, Studio ED + BGS Studios suffered major water damage caused by a broken pipe leak coming from the floor above. We suffered major damage to our studio and our dance floor.&nbsp; We would love for white people and white organizations to step to the front here! White folks putting in more resources to support BIPOC community is at the heart of the studio ed mission. So we want to encourage that here especially 🩷.&nbsp; We are a not-for-profit dance studio and community centre that provides much needed services for communities that are systematically under supported. We run free and sliding scale weekly classes, workshops, events and creative labs; for adults, youth, kids and their families. We are the home of Black Gxrl Sesh (BGS), a pillar of community building for Black LGTBQ+ ballroom. &nbsp;The majority of our organization and of our participants are trans/BIPOC/disabled. The loss of our space would be devastating and we are working hard to keep our doors open to our community.&nbsp; CALL TO ACTION:Insurance will not cover our income loss from being closed nor the re-building of our dance floor. We may receive insurance support from our landlords down the line, but it will take many weeks/months of work to advocate for this. In the meantime we need to move forwards and to re-open our doors as soon as possible. &nbsp;We need your help! Please donate generously and spread the word.&nbsp; What will your donation go towards: Dismantling and Re-building our dance floor &mdash;&gt; 25 000$Income lost while we are closed &mdash;&gt; we lose 2000$ of income per week while we are closed&nbsp;Extra labour towards crisis management &mdash;&gt; our team is working long hours each day to save Studio ED + BGS studios We asked our community to tell us how important Studio ED + BGS studios is to them, and within 24 hours we received over 50 heartfelt testimonials. Here are a few to show how important it is to keep this space alive and thriving: Studio ED + BGS Studios is more than just a physical space to me. It is a place where predominantly Black, and trans people can create, gather, express themselves, and feel a sense of belonging. Spaces like this are incredibly important because they give our communities somewhere to exist, build relationships, develop our creativity, and support one another without having to constantly explain or justify who we are. The possibility of losing this space because of water damage and unsafe conditions is devastating. It would mean losing more than a room or a studio &mdash; it would mean losing a community resource that has allowed people to create, connect, and feel seen. I believe this space deserves the support necessary to remain open and accessible to the people who depend on it. I hope the urgency of this situation is recognized and that emergency funding can help preserve Studio ED + BGS Studios so that the community can continue to have a place to create, gather, and thrive. It has been one of the very few safe spaces for me and my community (black queer women and femmes) As an immunocompromised person, StudioEd&#39;s classes have been essential to my well-being&mdash;not only as a masked environment, so that I am protected from respiratory and viral illnesses while building and being in community, but also as a space where queer folks of all levels can safely meet their fitness goals and move their bodies with the support of incredibly knowledgeable instructors. StudioEd&#39;s programming provides access to fitness and community space that is often inaccessible to multiply marginalized queer people.&nbsp; Studio Ed quite literally saved me. As a dancer suffering from a chronic disease that upended my life, I thought I would never get to have community dancing and exercising again. It was extremely unsafe to attend group classes where others are unmasked due to the risk of COVID which is particularly high in an environment where people are breathing very hard due to exertion. Thanks to Studio Ed&#39;s commitment to accessibility in their group classes, I finally found the community I&#39;ve been missing since I got sick and got to take my life back.

STUDIO ED + BGS STUDIOS NEEDS YOUR HELP!Over the weekend, Studio ED + BGS Studios suffered major water damage caused by a broken pipe leak coming from the floor above. We suffered major damage to our studio and our dance floor.  We would love for white people and white organizations to step to the front here! White folks putting in more resources to support BIPOC community is at the heart of the studio ed mission. So we want to encourage that here especially 🩷.  We are a not-for-profit dance studio and community centre that provides much needed services for communities that are systematically under supported. We run free and sliding scale weekly classes, workshops, events and creative labs; for adults, youth, kids and their families. We are the home of Black Gxrl Sesh (BGS), a pillar of community building for Black LGTBQ+ ballroom.  The majority of our organization and of our participants are trans/BIPOC/disabled. The loss of our space would be devastating and we are working hard to keep our doors open to our community.  CALL TO ACTION:Insurance will not cover our income loss from being closed nor the re-building of our dance floor. We may receive insurance support from our landlords down the line, but it will take many weeks/months of work to advocate for this. In the meantime we need to move forwards and to re-open our doors as soon as possible.  We need your help! Please donate generously and spread the word.  What will your donation go towards: Dismantling and Re-building our dance floor —&gt; 25 000$Income lost while we are closed —&gt; we lose 2000$ of income per week while we are closed Extra labour towards crisis management —&gt; our team is working long hours each day to save Studio ED + BGS studios We asked our community to tell us how important Studio ED + BGS studios is to them, and within 24 hours we received over 50 heartfelt testimonials. Here are a few to show how important it is to keep this space alive and thriving: Studio ED + BGS Studios is more than just a physical space to me. It is a place where predominantly Black, and trans people can create, gather, express themselves, and feel a sense of belonging. Spaces like this are incredibly important because they give our communities somewhere to exist, build relationships, develop our creativity, and support one another without having to constantly explain or justify who we are. The possibility of losing this space because of water damage and unsafe conditions is devastating. It would mean losing more than a room or a studio — it would mean losing a community resource that has allowed people to create, connect, and feel seen. I believe this space deserves the support necessary to remain open and accessible to the people who depend on it. I hope the urgency of this situation is recognized and that emergency funding can help preserve Studio ED + BGS Studios so that the community can continue to have a place to create, gather, and thrive. It has been one of the very few safe spaces for me and my community (black queer women and femmes) As an immunocompromised person, StudioEd's classes have been essential to my well-being—not only as a masked environment, so that I am protected from respiratory and viral illnesses while building and being in community, but also as a space where queer folks of all levels can safely meet their fitness goals and move their bodies with the support of incredibly knowledgeable instructors. StudioEd's programming provides access to fitness and community space that is often inaccessible to multiply marginalized queer people.  Studio Ed quite literally saved me. As a dancer suffering from a chronic disease that upended my life, I thought I would never get to have community dancing and exercising again. It was extremely unsafe to attend group classes where others are unmasked due to the risk of COVID which is particularly high in an environment where people are breathing very hard due to exertion. Thanks to Studio Ed's commitment to accessibility in their group classes, I finally found the community I've been missing since I got sick and got to take my life back.

Studio ED

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