Chorale
2009
to present
Coquina Crossing Chorale
A community chorale, rehearsing and performing under SACSPA direction since 2009.
Performing arts instruction for children in need and the elderly
“To find and nurture the spirit of creativity and talent that rests within everyone.”
Our mission
The mission, in the school’s own words
“Providing Performing Arts instruction to our local children in need and to the elderly.”
That sentence is the whole premise. SACSPA was founded in 2006 on the belief that creativity and talent are not reserved for families who can pay for instruction. Since then the school has carried performing arts instruction to the two groups most often left out: local children in need and the elderly.
- 2006Founded in St. Augustine
- 3Programs running today
- 2014Dancing Stars launched
Why it matters
The arts are the first thing cut
When budgets tighten, music and performance go before anything else. For a child in a therapeutic group home, or an older neighbor, there is rarely a private lesson waiting to fill the gap. The instruction simply stops, or never starts.
SACSPA is a St. Johns County nonprofit that keeps it going for exactly those neighbors. Without it, the chorale, the group-home sessions and the weekly performance group would need someone else to run them.
Without the school, these programs stop.
Programs
Three programs running right now
SACSPA's instruction happens inside partner organizations and community settings. These are the programs active today.
Group home
2014
to present
St. Augustine Youth Services (SAYS)
Performing arts instruction at a therapeutic group home for boys.
Online
2020
to present
Weekly Zoom performance group
A performance group that has met online every week since 2020.
Earlier programs
- 2009 to 2020THE PLAYERS Championship Boys & Girls Club of NE Florida, King Street Unit
- 2014 to 2019Kids Bridge
- 2007 to 2008Dept. of Recreation and Parks summer camps, nine locations
Measured in years, not grant cycles
Many arts programs for children and seniors begin with a grant and end when it does. SACSPA's programs are measured in years: a chorale since 2009, a group-home partnership since 2014, a weekly performance group since 2020. Donors are not funding a pilot. They are funding the next year of something that has already proven it stays.
-
Choose your way in.
Donate once or monthly, volunteer, sponsor or dance in Dancing Stars, come to the show, or refer a student or a senior community.
-
Call or email.
904-824-0664 or sacspa@gmail.com. Tell us what you want to do and we will tell you honestly what the school needs.
-
Keep a program running.
Your gift or your time goes to performing arts instruction for children in need and the elderly, through programs that have run for years, not months.
Annual fundraiser since 2014
Dancing Stars of St. Johns County
Local community members paired with Arthur Murray professionals.
Each year since 2014, local community members train with Arthur Murray professionals and perform ballroom routines in front of a hometown audience. A Judge's Choice and a People's Choice winner are named each year (there were none in 2020 or 2021).
Tickets, dancer voting and sponsorships are the fundraiser's revenue, and that revenue is what carries the chorale, the group-home program and the weekly performance group through the year. Dancing Stars is how the school pays for its instruction.
-
Donate, one-time or monthly
Every gift goes to performing arts instruction for children in need and the elderly. A monthly gift is the steadiest way to keep a program running year to year.
-
Volunteer
Give your time to the school or to Dancing Stars. Call or email and we will tell you where help is needed.
-
Sponsor Dancing Stars
Sponsorships are one of the fundraiser's three revenue sources and put your name in front of a hometown audience.
-
Dance in Dancing Stars
Train with an Arthur Murray professional and perform for the school. Dancer voting raises money directly.
-
Attend Dancing Stars
Ticket sales fund the school's programs. The 2027 date is not set yet.
-
Refer a student or a senior community
Know a child in need, or a senior community that would welcome a chorale or performance instruction? Tell us.
Founder and Executive Director
Annette Danielson
Annette Danielson founded the St. Augustine Community School of Performing Arts in 2006, after her recovery from a traumatic brain injury. She has directed the school since, and in 2014 launched Dancing Stars of St. Johns County with Arthur Murray Dance Centers as its annual fundraiser.
In their words
“I have covered in video and photos SACSPA under the direction of Annette Danielson for a couple of years. I am amazed for all the work she does with her school, from concerts to events like Dancing Stars of St Johns County. The community must keep supporting her school, for not having SACSPA would make us less of a community. I define her school and work with a single word ‘Love’.”
Jorge Rivera, Photo/Journalist, First Coast TV
Honest answers
What donors and volunteers ask us
-
Where does my donation go?
To performing arts instruction for children in need and the elderly, through the school's current programs: the Coquina Crossing Chorale, St. Augustine Youth Services, and the weekly Zoom performance group. SACSPA is a 501(c)(3), Florida Registration #CH54745. The state's registration and financial information line is in the footer.
-
Who do you serve?
Local children in need and the elderly in and around St. Johns County. Today that means a community chorale, a therapeutic group home for boys, and a weekly online performance group.
-
Can I volunteer without musical training?
Call or email and tell us what you can offer. Volunteer needs change with the season and with Dancing Stars, and we will tell you honestly whether there is a fit.
-
When is the next Dancing Stars?
The 2027 date has not been set. The last show was July 11, 2026. Sponsors and dancers can get in touch at any time, and tickets will be on dancingstarsofsjc.com once a date exists.