Founded in 1999 in memory of Gabriella Axelrad, a 13-year-old who loved to dance, the Gabriella Axelrad Foundation's mission is to help children develop self-confidence, acquire self-discipline and create positive self-image through the arts - and in so doing, increase each child's potential for a fulfilled, productive future.

The Gabriella Axelrad Foundation extended its Everybody Dance! program to a new school site in Los Angeles, serving an additional 200 students. Everybody Dance! provides underserved, inner-city children, ages eight and older, with after-school classes twice per week in ballet, jazz, tap, hip-hop, multicultural dance, creative movement and modern dance. Instruction is supplemented by master classes with guest instructors, opportunities to perform on professional stages, and the attendance of performances throughout the city. The program teaches special education students and typically developing children together.