Project Commotion’s mission is to foster healthy development in children of all abilities through purposeful movement, play, and family and community relationships. Founded by two female martial artists – one being Latina from Mexico – Project Commotion was created to address the lack of affordable, accessible creative spaces for children and families in the San Francisco Mission District.

Using a culturally-relevant curriculum, Project Commotion offers bilingual English/Spanish creative movement programming in dance, capoeira, and theater arts to children of all ages. Our relationship-based approach to the performing arts emphasizes social emotional learning, connection and holistic wellbeing.

Our Programs:

• Schools on the Move: Bringing movement-based learning to schools, improving focus, self-regulation, and academic engagement.
  
• Las Luciérnagas Preschool: A bilingual, play-based early childhood program emphasizing movement and social-emotional growth.
  
• Afterschool and Weekend Classes: Dance, capoeira, and creative movement programs for all ages, fostering confidence and coordination.
  
• Community Move: Workshops and mentoring for parents, educators, and professionals to integrate movement into classroom and home routines.
  
• Developmental Playgroups: Play-based cohorts support children (0-3) who are being monitored for developmental delays and disabilities and their families improving motor, communication, and relational skills

Story from a Project Commotion student (written by Z):
Z was diagnosed with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder at a very young age. She spent much of her childhood with therapists and specialists: she was constantly bouncing off the walls with energy, prone to meltdowns and tantrums, and struggled with fine-motor skills, sitting still, and following directions. By the age of 7, she had already been turned away from most of the classes and extracurriculars she tried.

When Project Commotion opened its doors in 2008, she was one of its very first students. She enrolled in the capoeira class taught by co-founder Susan Osterhoff and immediately thrived in the flexible class environment which had plenty of opportunities for big-body, high energy movements like tumbling and crashing. Project Commotion was one of only places that encouraged and honored her enthusiasm and impulses, that didn’t try to get her to quiet down and sit still but gave her an outlet and direction for her energy. Always a headstrong and independent child, the play-based, exploration-oriented classes were a perfect fit. The youth capoeira classes didn’t focus strongly on forms or sequences; instead, classes gave students the building blocks to improvise their own games with their peers. Z learned not just kicks and flips, but communication skills, emotional regulation, and self-confidence.

Capoeira became Z’s passion, and by the time she was nine, she was taking both children’s and adult classes. When she was thirteen years old, she spent a summer volunteering with Camp Commotion, working for the first time to help other children like her learn and grow. “It’s such a privilege to be able to connect with kids like me, kids that get called too weird or too loud or too much, and give them the opportunity to play and move and just be themselves for an hour.”