Dance to Unite

We thrive by making the BEST out of every situation! Back in 2014, our founder Galit, Dance to Unite volunteer teachers, and a volunteer professional photographer were excited to see one of our partnering schools’ students perform. Unfortunately, the after school director welcomed our Dance to Unite team with somber news. The students would not get to perform since the auditorium was no longer available. ... This was very disappointing as our team worked all school year for that special day, not to mention the students who were waiting all year to perform! But we don’t give up and we make the best out of every situation! Our founder Galit knocked on every class door until one teacher agreed to have our Dance to Unite students perform to their peers who happened to be the midst of a science class. Our team distributed the costumes we brought for our Dance to Unite students in the hallway and the photographer captured the performance to the science class. Our Dance to Unite students were beaming, they got to perform! One of the students told Galit that he was so excited for the performance that he couldn’t sleep the night before! We’re glad we were able to provide a positive experience to our students despite the obstacles. We’ve had many unpleasant experiences along the way but it made us stronger, we’ve learned to stand up for respect, kindness and unity. We exemplify what we teach and we ask for our partners to do the same! It’s so great to look back, even at the challenges, because it makes us appreciate the fact that truly came a long way!

8 Count Stretch! We weave our values in a fun way from the beginning of our Dance to Unite class all the way to the end. Before we start to teaching the choreography we start with our Dance to Unite warm up set stretch.... Our students are engaged since it’s repeated every class and the stretch is taught in a way that is a game of numbers, it starts with an 8 count followed by 4, followed by 2 and ending with a count of 1. What’s so special about it is that once our students get familiar with the stretch we ask one of them to lead the stretch, we pick the student who aligns with our values and shows that they participate in class in the Dance to Unite way, that reinforces our students to behave in kindness, respect and compassion since they get rewarded for it by leading the stretch. Every class we choose another student for a leader. We also weave in the value of culture by asking kids who speak at home a language that is different than English to lead the stretch by counting in their language and their peers repeating the numbers in a language they may hear for the very first time. That will provide the lead student to take pride in their culture and their peers to show acceptance, respect and a way to celebrate their peer’s culture. Dance to Unite offers an educational training on how to lead our values through Circle Talk and a dance instructional training for kids. More tips on how to teach warm- up and choreography in the Dance to Unite method are coming up in our third official training *by invitation only* coming up this Tuesday, November 10th at 7:00pm!

This sort of unity and cultural diversity is what Dance to Unite is all about! Our past teacher Vaishali lent her Kathak expertise and passion to our Bronx students! This sharing of cultures is what Dance to Unite is all about. Not only do our students learn new dance moves and have a fun experience but they get the opportunity to be exposed to a new culture, in this class to the Indian vibrant culture! When we learn from each other and take diverse perspectives to heart, our eyes are opened to a new world of collaboration and empathy! That’s when we are paving the way to unity

We are happy to share Dance to Unite student Merlina’s recitation of the tenth Souls to Unite rule of engagement! Dance to Unite offers staff development via weekly meetings called Souls to Unite. In those meetings our staff learns how to integrate Dance to Unite values as a lifestyle. It’s how we shape our staff to build their character and became role models through spiritual conversions that reflect on unity in every aspect of life. We look forward to open those conversations to our supporters in the future. If you would like to take part in Souls to Unite please email [email protected]. We hope to connect with your souls soon!

Souls to Unite falls under the umbrella of our weekly Marketing to Unite staff development meetings. It is when our Dance to Unite staff learns to integrate our core values as Dance to Unite role models. Dance to Unite is not limited to the classroom or to the time a staff member engages with our organization. The 13 Rules of Engagement are a reminder of how to conduct ourselves especially amidst conflicts and challenges while remaining true to our core values.... Dance to Unite shifts perception and builds character through spiritual conversations and mentorship, it is a reminder to operate from a place of love and unity and to strive to adopt it as a lifestyle!

Happy Halloween! We hope that you all are staying safe this holiday and letting your inner kid out to celebrate! Check out this adorable video of students from PS 42 moving across the floor like monsters!

Smiles all around! Moments of fun loving joy are memories we cherish! At the end of the day our students really love the dance and movement part of our classes. Our program mixes meaningful conversations with dance because kids need to be kids! We provide a safe space for our students to let go and feel free to have fun in a positive way!... Watching our students utilize our Dance to Unite values while they engage with each other in a fun way is what our program is all about!

Gratitude is such an important practice for us all! We are so grateful for our wonderful students, school partners, volunteers, donors, and supporters! Our students at PS 42 showed their gratitude to their teachers through a handmade card!... How do you practice gratitude?

Messages like these never fail to warm our hearts! Our students are all unique and they express care in unique ways! One popular way is through written notes to Dance to Unite or their Dance to Unite teachers. We love being able to connect with our students and see the impact we have on them as well! Stay tuned to read more messages from our students!

#memorymonday In 2019 students at PS 64 learned a musical theatre dance routine with volunteer teachers Lynn and Sarah! At Dance to Unite we try to expose students to varied dance styles! From Bollywood to Dancehall our students have fun learning something new and appreciating the diversity in their communities!

Virtual teaching has not slowed down our work! We are so excited to continue teacher trainings and start working in our schools. Even though our work is through a screen right now, it in a way gives us the opportunity to unity with people we otherwise would not have. Our volunteer teachers can be based all around the world! And creating a virtual curriculum means that someday our classes could be all around the world too!... Stay tuned on our social media platforms to keep uniting with us

We’re going LIVE tonight at 7pm! This is a great time to hear from current volunteers and staff members while figuring our how you can make an impact through Dance to Unite! We hope to see you there! We are looking forward to sharing our experiences and answering your questions about Dance to Unite!

Are you attending our Instagram Live session tomorrow? It’s not too late to join in on the Dance to Unite goodness! We are hosting an Instagram Live Session this Friday at 7 pm. Learn how YOU can get involved! This is a great time to hear from current volunteers and staff members while figuring our how you can make an impact through Dance to Unite!... We hope to see you all there!

If you are an experienced Dance to Unite teacher (assistant teachers included) you are welcome to join our Zoom Virtual Teachers’ Training TODAY from 7:00 pm to 9:00pm. By now you should have received an email containing the Zoom Link for this training. If not, please email our administrator Kate at: [email protected] We are looking forward to connecting with you all!