The global pandemic has impacted almost every aspect of The Cowles Center. In mid-March, the Cowles canceled the rest of our 9th season, including shows with eight local dance companies featuring some 200 artists. As a result, 10,000 individuals could not experience the magic of dance or performing arts live on the Goodale Stage this past spring. When Minnesota public schools and The Cowles Center needed to shutter, hundreds of our dance education residency sessions were canceled, and thousands of students missed out on performance opportunities.

We quickly pivoted. The Cowles decided to work closely with our season companies to find a way to bring their performances to life when it was safe to do so; our upcoming 10th season reflects this commitment. Our 10th season demonstrates a shift to new content built specifically for a virtual format. Our Education and Community Engagement programs, already with a long practice of distance learning strategies, were responsive to the rapidly changing virtual world while maintaining the integrity of our high-quality programs. As a result of working with our Teaching Artists through existing and new virtual formats, we've reached more families than ever before. Through a new open proposal program, the Cowles created 6 FEET / 6 SOLOS in response to how this year has created an environment for isolation and necessitated connection in ways we've never experienced before. The program had more than 60 applicants, and six were selected to develop and showcase a new performance in September.

The Cowles Center needs your support more than ever before. The loss of revenue from ticket sales, studio rentals, tenant rent, and the uncertainty of returning to "normal" is still weighing on us. We're proud of the ways we've been nimble already, and we know that there are ways to continue to be innovative, provide access to dance education, and support the dance community.

Your 100% tax-deductible financial contributions at this time will fund:

• Technology enhancements in our theaters and studios to create safe spaces for artists to bring dance into people's homes and student learning spaces.
• Hire Teaching Artists to create a new series of online dance lessons in a diverse array of styles and downloadable toolkits to serve as resources to teachers and parents.
• ? Provide financial support to working artists for an additional cohort of 6 FEET / 6 SOLOS and the opportunity to engage with new dance pieces in response to the unusual times we are facing.