Dancing with Purpose

Happy New Year! As I reflect on this past year and look expectantly into 2011 I continue to ask myself "Why do I still dance?" My body is getting older and I've been plagued with numerous injuries the past couple of years. It is frustrating to realize my body can't do some of the things it used to.



The month of December is always a busy one for me but this one seemed heavier than usual. As we celebrated my son's 21st birthday on the 13th, I reflected on the many ways he has impacted my life. Although it is still hard for me to comprehend my little boy being 21, I am so, so proud of the man of God he is growing into. On the 22nd of December, my school put on the biggest production of The Nutcracker ever. We transported over 100 students to another school so they would have the opportunity to perform on a real stage which my school doesn't have. As a result of all the rehearsals I was unable to attend my own dance ministry rehearsals. Then I got the call, I was asked to dance the role of Mary, mother of Jesus for our Christmas Eve candle light service. The part didn't require any rehearsal for me. Thank you God, I was still going to be able to minister which meant the world to me. Hours before I was to dance, Darrell, my husband, became ill and needed to go to the hospital. He told me to take him and leave him so I could still go dance. I considered it - was I being selfish? Then our friend Zach offered to take Darrell to the hospital. I promised I would come as soon as I finished dancing.



Darrell went to the hospital and I went to dance. I prayed and receive such a peace about the whole situation that I didn't even look at my phone until after I finisihed dancing. As I danced down the aisle with the baby in my arms, I was reminded of how Jesus came into this world to save us. I reflected on His purpose of being born to die for our sins and at that moment my own sense of purpose was renewed. I was born to dance and to help others do the same. 2011 I am recommitting myself to dancing with purpose and passion.



Oh FYI, when I finished dancing, there was a text from Darrell stating that he was feeling better and he would be home soon. Thank you God! Why do I still dance at 49. I dance because I am called and there is nothing more important that doing what God tells you to do.

Misty Copeland: an unlikely ballerina

This story reminds me of when I first started teaching in Newark. For our first production of The Nutcracker, I invited one of my former students from New York to play the Sugar Plum Fairy. When I told the cast about our guest dancers, one of my students replied, "Oh she must be white." When my former student, Jennifer, the Sugar Plum Fairy arrived that evening, my current student, Dajaita, who made the comment about Jennifer burst into tears. You see, Jennifer, was a dark skinned Dominican. Yes she was the same skin color as Dajaita. Through her tears, Dajaita blurted out - "OMG, she's beautiful and she looks like me!" Jennifer danced on pointe that evening and forever changed Dajaita's life.

Our students need more role models like Misty Copeland and Jennifer. Anything is possible if you just believe.

Misty Copeland: an unlikely ballerina, posted with vodpod

PraiseMoves

DANCING MY PRAYERS with PraiseMoves! Its the perfect fit. Over a month ago I became a (CPI) certified PraiseMoves Instructor. PraiseMoves is the Christian Alternative to Yoga. I'll admit when I first started looking into getting certified I wasn't sure if this program was going to give me the results I used to get with yoga. Although I loved the yoga class I used to take, when we got to the chanting part I felt very uncomfortable. I used to say the Lords prayer or 23rd Psalm to myself but still something just didn't feel right. I began researching Christian yoga but still wasn't sold until I saw a post on Facebook one day about PraiseMoves. My life has been forever changed. I ordered the DVDs and began working out.

Dancing My Prayers with PraiseMoves has taken my morning devotional time to a whole new level. Not only are the postures physically challenging but the scripture references help me to memorize scripture and do bible study. My devotion time with God is even more intimate now. I've incorporated PraiseMoves into my daily prayers as a way to stay fit physically and spiritually. I now teach a class at my church and am loving every minute of it. It is amazing how I can read scripture over and over again to try and memorize it but as soon as I do it I remember. I will always glorify God in my body! I Corinthians 6:20

Dance Day

National Dance Day - July 31, 2010 is an opportunity for all of us to celebrate. I'm excited about this dance day. Although dance educators have been celebrating National Dance Day for years - the world is now taking notice of the power of dance thanks to the hit show SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE. I credit this hit show for helping my students be able to take constructive criticism. During one class, as I was critiquing a group of students on their choreography, one students replied "Oh this is like being on SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE, so we have to listen to you so we can get better."

I dance because dance is my chosen weapon of warfare. When I am dancing I am experiencing my authentic self. I am one with God and I feel an intimacy with the Holy Spirit. Whether you dance to exercise, release stress, communicate, perform or worship - lets learn this dance and on July 31st we're gonna show the world - I DANCE BECAUSE...

Why do you dance?

Friends of Salsa

Who invented Salsa - Cubans or Puerto Ricans? Whoever invented it, whoever created it, we cannot ignore the fact that the rhythm, the beats come from Africa. We are all connected through this fiery Latin dance. So closely related to Mambo and Cha-Cha, some say it is the same dance. Latin communities throughout the United States and Latin America are responsible for shaping most of the steps we see today.

I loved dancing salsa so I decided to have a salsa party to celebrate my birthday and the launch of the I DANCE BECAUSE scholarship fund. Many of my friends came, learned basic salsa choreography and donated to the scholarship fund.

We were all blown away when the FRIENDS OF SALSA stepped on the floor. The Friends of Salsa are a group of dancers from Newark, all over the age of 60, (except for one) who dance smooth, old school salsa. I was mesmerized just watching these seasoned dancers spin, turn and shimmy with each other. I was amazed when the male dancers started dancing with 2 & 3 females to make up for the shortage of men.

It was a great night. We've decided to make it an annual event so if you missed it, catch us next year. Most of all consider donating to the I DANCE BECAUSE scholarship fund. Help send an inner city child to a dance school. Dance has changed many lives. Lets keep it going. What has dance done for you? Consider the gift of dance and how important it has been in your life.

THANKS MOM

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY & Happy Birthday to ME! This year as I celebrate Mother's Day and my birthday, both on the same day I am so grateful to have my mom living with me.

I remember when I first started taking ballet at the age of 6 - I HATED IT!. My dance teacher was strict and I just wanted to have fun. I begged my mom to take me out of class but she wouldn't. I had asked to take ballet and she wasn't going to let me just stop because I didn't like it. I am so, so, so grateful today my mom did not take me out of that class. It taught me so much much than ballet. It taught me about commitment. You see even at 6 years old when I just wanted to play and have fun I had to learn that when you ask for something and then you get it - you don't just throw it back at the first sign of discomfort or dislike. Some things you have to see through for the gratification. I also learned to plan ahead and shift rather than just give up. You see, for 2 years as I begged not to take ballet, my mom asked me what I wanted to take instead and I replied "I don't know". I learned very quickly that was not an acceptable response in my house. Finally after 2 years, I got it!. I asked if I could take tap dance instead of ballet because it was fun. See, I had a plan and a reason. My mom obliged and thus my love affair with dance began. I eventually went back to taking ballet and eventually into modern, jazz and African. After a few years, I was hooked and knew this is what I was supposed to do with my life.

I can't imagine what my life would be like had I never been introduced to dance. So on this mother's day - I thank my mom for making me stick with it even when I didn't want to. I dance because God called me to dance and my mom wouldn't let me say no.

My class just won’t dance

As I approach the last cycle in the semester, most of my classes are preparing for their final presentation. My kindergarten students are dancing to SINGING IN THE RAIN. My 1^st graders are dancing to FIREFLIES. We talked about how exciting it is to watch fireflies at night and then try to catch them. My 6^th graders are doing a DANCE OF THE DECADE project. In groups they will research a specific decade and report on the music, major news headlines, famous personalities, fashion and create a dance which represents that decade. In my school it has become tradition that the 8^th graders learn ballroom dance. Their final project involves them presenting at least one ballroom dance to an audience. So far collectively they have explored Swing, The Waltz and Salsa. Although the classes are challenging (which is an understatement) and I am drained at the end of each class, the majority of my students are engaged and learning – except for that one class that just won't dance!

I have one 8^th grade class that just won't dance. It's not all the students but it is more than 50% of the class. Most of the students are very immature. They argue with each other and constantly call each other names. After 2 disruptive sessions in the dance studio I've resorted to teaching them in their classroom. It is so frustrating to teach this class. The few students that do want to dance are discouraged because they are being punished for others apathy. I don't know if a math teacher or language arts teacher has to face the same level of disregard for their subject matter but I feel offended when a student continually says "I don't dance, its not my thing." When I was in grade school I didn't want to do math but it wasn't an option. I didn't want to fail so I did my work. These students seem not to be concerned with failing a dance class or with me having a conversation with their parents. Administration says just fail them if they don't do the work but something inside me says there has got to be a way to reach these students.

We've started watching parts of TAKE THE LEAD, the story of the Ballroom dance teacher, Pierre Dulaine who went into a New York City school to teach Ballroom dance. Each class the students answer questions about the scene they saw. We don't watch the movie in its entirety because it is rated PG13 and there is much foul language. We've actually had some brief interesting conversations about Pierre's rationale for wanting to teach Ballroom to these students. They all agreed the dance classes could have a positive effect on the students. So why don't they believe it for themselves. Its only April and we've just started this discussion. I don't want to resort to just giving them busy work because then I fell like I've failed. My hope is that by June I will have convinced the reluctant, unwilling students to give dance a try. If not dance, at least be willing, respectful audience members as other students learn to TAKE THE LEAD.