TUCSON, Ariz. (KGUN) — Esperanza Dance Project, a normally non-profit dance company, uses dance as a form of activism and seeks to reach victims of sexual assault and sexual trauma. The group frequently travels to middle and high schools around Tucson.

They’ve been practicing for a different kind of audience lately. The company is preparing for its November fundraiser. Beth Braun, artistic director of Esperanza Dance Project, said it will be the biggest one yet.

“The more work we do, the more young people we can help,” Braun said. Esperanza will use the funds to expand its mission of empowering survivors of sexual violence and trauma through movement.

The gala will be on Sunday, November 17 at 17.00 at Site 17. There will be both silent and live performances, line dancing and auctions.

“Dance is a wordless art,” Braun said. “Sometimes it’s really hard to talk about things, to explain things, but we can still express a lot with our bodies and our movements.

Braun taught dance in high school. After her own daughter experienced sexual trauma, she began to see similar symptoms in other students on campus. This is what inspired Esperanza.

He said some of the adults were withdrawing from their trusted adults and friends, failing to make eye contact during conversations, and lowering their grades.

“As hard as it was to get through this,” Braun said, “I look back now and feel grateful that I was able to create something that really helped so many young people.”

Nicki Smith, one of Braun’s students, followed her former teacher’s company after graduation.

“I have been impressed with every performance I have attended,” Smith said.

Eventually, she fully embraced the mission and joined the company as a dancer and board member.

“The body was used as a weapon against them,” he said. “So we use movement as a way to show them that sources of trauma can be redefined as sources of healing.”

She would also bring her niece, Precious Davis, to class. Eventually, Davis joined the team.

“This is another form of language that people can understand emotionally,” Davis said. She says dancing with a purpose gives her a deeper drive to perform better.

Esperanza Dance Project dancers will perform three dances during the gala night. Each begins with a monologue from their show.