Daniel Choi spent nine years as a software engineer in Bay Area big tech, and the more he watched AI displace people, the more uneasy he felt. So he founded the Bay Area Youth Arts Foundation, known as BAYA.
BAYA runs low- and no-cost pop-up dance workshops in San Jose, Santa Clara and Los Altos. In this episode of The PR Bunker Podcast, Daniel talks about what pushed him to start it and why young people need a third space.
A few takeaways from the conversation:
Every BAYA workshop opens with icebreakers, because the point is connection as much as choreography. The workshops also run inside high schools.
When someone tells Daniel that, his answer is to get in line anyway. He also traces part of the idea back to a moment at a teachers' camp.
Daniel's goal is a permanent third space for Bay Area youth. Along the way, a backwards-choreography video drew 200,000 views.
Learn more about BAYA at bayareayoutharts.org.
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What is the Bay Area Youth Arts Foundation?
BAYA is a nonprofit founded by Daniel Choi that runs low- and no-cost pop-up dance workshops for young people in San Jose, Santa Clara and Los Altos.
Do you need dance experience to join a BAYA workshop?
No. Workshops open with icebreakers, and Daniel encourages people who say they're bad at dancing to join anyway.
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