D.A.S.H. Center for Performing Arts wants to give local youth an opportunity to showcase their talents on stage.

This month the center will re-open The Corner, a lounge-style space where young people can perform acts in front of an audience. The first round of performances will begin on Jan. 22 and will continue each Friday from 9-11:30 p.m. at the D.A.S.H Center. The Corner is open to audience members of all ages. However, the stage is reserved primarily for those aged 13-20.

Candi Hall, executive director for the D.A.S.H Center, says she hopes to see a broader sampling of young local talent.

“The last few times we did it there were a couple singers, but mostly MCs,” Hall said. “Audiences will probably see a number of young rappers. I’m hoping to generate more spoken-word artists, too.”

The Corner began in 2009 as a component of the D.A.S.H Center’s Art of Hip-Hop program, which teaches young people the history, art and purpose of hip-hop as a social and musical movement.

The D.A.S.H. Center, which stands for Dancing, Acting and Singing in Harmony, is a non-profit community organization that allows people to develop natural talent and acquire the skills necessary for a career in the performing arts.

The goal of the D.A.S.H. Center is to provide training in all aspects of the performing arts. While the center’s programming is available to anyone, it primarily targets minority, inner-city youth who otherwise would have less opportunity to explore and develop their creative abilities.

Since launching, The Corner has held two shows. Organizers plan to make The Corner a more regular event by holding weekly shows.  

At this month’s show, performers will have the chance to act, sing, dance and rap to live music preformed by local band D1.

Hall said offering a chance for Tacoma’s inner city youth to perform with live instruments is a unique experience. With her familiarity working with young people at the D.A.S.H. Center, Hall said listening to music is common for these communities, but experiencing live music can be more foreign.

“Live music is something that is distant from us,” Hall said. “During the first shows at The Corner, when young people had an opportunity to perform with the band they were thrown off.”

Hall said opening the doors to The Corner more regularly would give young people and the community more experience and exposure to live music.

“This is something that is really unique because it’s a connection to the art that they may not have had before,” Hall noted.  

Although organizers are in the beginning stages of reviving The Corner, Hall said she has begun looking toward the future to what the event could become. For the next several months, D.A.S.H Center will step up its fundraising efforts to keep The Corner’s doors open.

Eventually Hall would like to raise enough funds to build a recording studio in the D.A.S.H Center so performers could learn the fundamentals of the recording and producing process. Most of all, Hall would like to see The Corner simply become a success.

“We just want to build back a participation base at the shows,” Hall said. “Not as many young people attend as there used to be in the past.”

She wants to remind the public that D.A.S.H Center is open for anyone with something to say or perform. Hall also hopes more adults and families will attend upcoming shows at The Corner, too.

“We want older people and adults to come and be a part of the audience,” Hall said.

“Give the kids someone to perform for.”

The Corner is located at D.A.S.H Center, 1504 Martin Luther King Jr. Way in Tacoma. Admission to The Corner is $3. Those who want to sign up for a performance can e-mail Hall at chall@thedashcenter.org.