Today, the creative director, My-Linh Le, launched an all-or-nothing crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. If the group does not reach its goal of $8,000, all of the money pledged will be returned to the backers.

As explained on the project’s website www.mudwatertheatre.com, “Turfing is an American urban social style of dance originating in Oakland, California, in the midst of gang violence, poverty, and a range of other social ills. The foundation of this style is based on various dances from different ‘turfs’ of Oakland that came about in the 1990s up to the present.”

The primary objective of the project is to present a juxtaposition of ballet and turfing in order to demonstrate the grace and beauty that is universal, that transcends all situations and lifestyles. But in order to do that, the group must first find funding. In their Kickstarter video, My-Linh explains the problem with American grant programs, which tend to exclude new artists. “Every grant I’ve applied for required documentation of at least one professionally-oriented show that I would’ve had to produce in the last year or two. But in order to have done that, I would’ve needed money.” The crowdfunding campaign, if successful, will compensate each artist involved in the project for travel costs and time spent rehearsing and performing.