How Dance to Dreams uses HopSkipDrive so transportation is never the reason a student misses ballet
What Reliable Summer Youth Transportation Made Possible
For the students in Dance to Dreams, summer transportation isn't a logistical detail. It's the difference between attending class and missing it entirely. Some travel from as far as Torrance, more than 20 miles across Los Angeles, to participate in a program that costs their families nothing except the commitment to show up.
Transportation also keeps year-round scholars in the program. Each summer, Dance to Dreams selects a small group of students (nine since 2022) to continue as full-year scholars in Westside Ballet’s rigorous training program. For some, getting to the studio consistently is what makes that commitment possible.
“The families that use it would not be able to come to our school if not for HopSkipDrive. Families are really happy with the service and really grateful.”
— Adrian Blake Mitchell, Founder of Dance to Dreams and Artistic Director, Westside Ballet
For school staff, the shift from a traditional rideshare service to HopSkipDrive has simplified day-to-day logistics. With the rideshare service, staff had to manage and coordinate rides themselves from their phones, often during class. With HopSkipDrive, rides are booked in advance through a single platform. Students sometimes ride with the same CareDriver repeatedly, creating a familiar, comfortable experience in an otherwise high-expectation environment.
About Westside Ballet and Dance to Dreams
Westside School of Ballet has been shaping exceptional dancers for nearly six decades. Founded by Yvonne Mounsey, a principal dancer with New York City Ballet, and Rosemary Valaire of The Royal Ballet, the school has produced generations of professional ballet artists who have gone on to perform with major companies around the world.
In 2022, Westside Ballet launched Dance to Dreams, a fully subsidized summer program designed to remove every barrier between aspiring young dancers and high-quality training. Each summer, as many as 75 students attend at no cost to their families, with dance attire, meals, and transportation provided.
“We remove every potential barrier for why students would say they can’t come — whether it’s money, the need to be fed, the need for clothing or shoes, or the need for transportation. That’s where HopSkipDrive steps in.”
— Adrian Blake Mitchell, Founder of Dance to Dreams and Artistic Director, Westside Ballet
The Transportation Challenge: Getting Youth Across Los Angeles
For many Dance to Dreams families, transportation is the most concrete obstacle between a student and the studio. Many participants come from households where parents work multiple jobs, share one car, or have no car at all. Even students selected as year-round scholars can’t always follow through — not because they lack talent or commitment, but because they have no way to get there.
Providing reliable summer transportation across a city as spread out as Los Angeles is harder than it sounds. Routes span multiple neighborhoods and zip codes. Many families have no access to a car, and standard rideshare apps aren’t built for, and do not allow, unaccompanied minors, meaning every trip requires an adult to ride along, adding cost, complexity, and scheduling burden that most programs simply can’t absorb.
In the program’s first year, the team tried ordering rides through one of the traditional rideshare apps. The arrangement quickly became unsustainable: staff and parent volunteers had to ride along in every vehicle. Rides were ordered one at a time on personal phones by staff who were also running the program. It was logistically untenable.
The Solution: Safe, Vetted Summer Transportation for Unaccompanied Youth
A parent volunteer suggested HopSkipDrive, and the fit was immediate. Unlike standard rideshare platforms, HopSkipDrive is built specifically for youth transportation: CareDrivers are highly vetted caregivers who can transport students independently, without a chaperone in the vehicle. The difference from a traditional rideshare service was immediate and practical:
CareDrivers are required to have caregiving experience with children (many are parents, teachers, or childcare workers) and pass a 15-point certification including fingerprint background checks and ongoing monitoring. Read more about CareDriver vetting standards.
Staff can book multiple rides in advance through a single platform, eliminating the one-at-a-time phone juggling that made traditional rideshare unworkable
Students often ride with the same CareDriver repeatedly, creating consistency and comfort for young dancers who may already feel the pressure of a rigorous program
Year-round availability means scholars can get to performances, photo shoots, and irregular class times — not just summer sessions
No chaperone required: unaccompanied minor transportation is what HopSkipDrive is built for, removing the volunteer and staff burden that made other platforms unworkable
The switch was also driven by trust. Westside Ballet's team connected with how HopSkipDrive was founded and why: a company built specifically around the safety and dignity of children. Dance to Dreams has now coordinated summer transportation for youth through HopSkipDrive for three consecutive summers. The service is also available year-round for scholars who need rides to performances, photo shoots, or irregular class times.
“After practice Karson is exhausted, and the bus home takes 45 minutes to an hour. Rideshares got too expensive for us. Knowing she has a safe ride means Karson never has to miss ballet.” — Hajar S., mother of Karson, who first attended in Summer 2022 and is now a full-time Westside Ballet merit-based scholarship student
Expanding Access: More Youth, More Summers
Mitchell is actively fundraising to extend HopSkipDrive access to more year-round scholars. Transportation is one of the main reasons talented students selected for the full-year program end up unable to follow through on the commitment, and closing that gap is next on his list.
For a program built on the belief that every barrier is removable, getting summer transportation for youth right isn't a nice-to-have. It's the foundation everything else is built on. When a student can get to the studio, the rest becomes possible: the training, the scholarship, the career.
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