At DA:NCE, ‘New Ideas Become 2 Ideas’.
First idea. Drum roll.
About a year ago the DA:NCE staff began to think about putting together a Healthy DA:NCE Concert to expose the public to healthy dance through the portal of different age groups of children. After further consideration and discussion, we decided that a full concert was not what we needed. We condensed a full concert to create a ‘Healthy DA:NCE Showcase’ with 3 dances to demonstrate what we mean by healthy educational dance.
Today I am thrilled to introduce our inaugural ‘Healthy Dance Showcase’ to you, a children’s dance presentation that shares the work of organizations and studios across the country. The movement choices demonstrate the celebration that creative, age-appropriate dance experiences provide for children and adults. The dances also value children’s innocence while fostering confidence and creativity. The ‘Healthy DA:NCE Showcase’ premiered on YouTube the week of November 14th and can still be viewed on youtube as well as the DA:NCE website. Note that the video is less than 15 minutes long including narration by accomplished MFA dance educator Marlita Hill. She was the force working on this project behind the scenes and in front of the camera😊 Oh, and by the way, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel to receive additional video notifications from DA:NCE that include all of our free resources created by Neal Thibedeau, a graduate of the prestigious AFI(American Film Institute). What a guy!
Our Inaugural ‘24 Showcase features three works:
• “California Beachin,” choreographed by Darcy Naganuma, from Marshall Fundamental School Secondary School, Pasadena, CA
• “Polka,” choreographed by Maria Kapustina, from Rhonda Whitehead’s Studio, Brandon, MS
• “The Promise,” choreographed by Bailey Holladay, Salt Lake City, UT
All 3 dances display the benefits of healthy dance through creativity, joy, and reflection.
Now back to the title: ‘New Ideas Become 2 Ideas’.
Second idea. Drum roll.
Support Our Mission
Although this concert is free for viewing, we invite you to join us in supporting the ‘Healthy Dance Showcase’ and the vital work DA:NCE Awareness is doing to protect children from hypersexualized dance. Your generous donation will help us continue to provide resources, education, and platforms like this concert to promote age-appropriate, healthy dance experiences for children. Together, we can ensure that children across the country have access to safe and enriching dance environments.
Our work is changing the culture. This month and every month, DA:NCE provides the educational resources to make sure every child is allowed to dance with dignity, joy, and a sense of safety. Earlier this year, we launched the first-of-its-kind Healthy DA:NCE Directory to help families find studios committed to age-appropriate dance practices.
And that’s just the beginning. We also launched a new website, released new resources designed to empower and encourage, advocated and spoke at national conferences and began the DA:NCE Coalition, our new advisory and advocacy arm of DA:NCE Awareness.
I invite you to support our work with a financial gift. Your donation will help us:
• Expand our Healthy DA:NCE Directory so more families can access safe dance studios.
• Advocate for healthy, age-appropriate dance practices that protect against the dangers of hypersexualization.
• Help caring adults connect the dots from hypersexualized children’s dance to the media, internet and porn industry.
Allow us to continue our work to create researched based resources that shine a spotlight on this problem and its solution. And remember: ‘New Ideas Become 2 Ideas’ when people like YOU support protecting children in DA:NCE.
Thank you.
