Through your participation, we can continue to inspire Indigenous youth to embrace the performing arts.

If you wish to connect with Outside Looking In by sponsoring the show, purchasing tickets for the performance, or to learn more about the issues that inspired these young performers, please visit our contact page.


How will sponsorship dollars be used?
Although OLI is in the process of obtaining charitable status, we are not quite there yet! As a result, sponsorships will help ensure the success of OLI’s first annual performance. By next year, our goal is that OLI will have charitable status and all donations will be issued tax receipts and held accountable to the mission of OLI.

Putting on a show of any magnitude demands a lot of resources — from people to dollars. OLI’s show in May 2008 has a number of variables. Here are some of the costs to which your sponsorship is contributing:;

- Artists’ fees
- Costumes and make-up design
- Stage management
- Film and production costs
- Ongoing travel to and from reserve for rehearsals
- Travel for Lac La Croix youth
- Accommodations for visiting  performers
- Website Maintenance
- Marketing/Advertising/Print Materials
- Post-Production Film Editing

What is the longer-term vision of OLI?
OLI is in the process of securing charitable status and setting up the proper governing and accountability standards. The idea of OLI grew so fast in the past months — from what would have been a small show for a select network of people to one that will be performed in a top Toronto theatre, with a great VIP list to boot! We are excited about this progression and working hard to take the right steps to ensure that this opportunity continues for Indigenous youth and Canadians alike.

Our goal is to work with more than one Indigenous community across Canada on an ongoing basis, involving more communities and artists on a bigger scale. The annual show will eventually include not just one community, but perhaps up to five! Our shows will be featured across Canada, sharing stories and bridging the gap between communities as relationships become stronger and our understanding of each other grows deeper.


Why doesn’t OLI have charitable status yet?
OLI came to fruition in September 2007 and grew rapidly from an idea by founder Tracee Smith. What was going to be a choreographic show featuring talented dancers and Indigenous youth has become an opportunity to empower these Indigenous youth and give Canadians an opportunity to broaden their perspectives on Indigenous peoples today and into the future. We never anticipated such growth! But rather than wait another year, we decided to forge ahead with our great idea offering an incredible show and illustrating how exciting this can be every year, getting better and better as we learn and grow.