Hey there! I need your help to get to a special performance/teacher training course in Colombia!!! I am a Canberra Artist and uni student who recently landed the job of teaching dance to young people with special needs. During this process I have encountered the challenge of bringing diverse body types together in a way that celebrates all of their awesome movement styles in high quality performance art. This course in Colombia will help me overcome that challenge...  but I am a uni student at the mo, so I cannot afford to get there and train for a month without your help...   (continue on for my vision blurb)                                                                                                                                                                                               Every Body can dance. This is a fact.

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Every *body* grooves to it's own unique rhythm, day in day out.

Every *body* can respond to other bodies and express creativity through movement... this is something we all share.

As we move through space we all achieve a Kinaesthetic, pre-conscious magic, something we each do differently.

Yet not all bodies are celebrated for this most creative and wonderful capacity.

Most of us 'don't dance properly'.

We aren't allowed to be creative, enjoyable, or inspiring with our naturally wise, and expressive instruments...

... and this is crap.

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There is a method called Danceability which enables a facilitator to coordinate different bodies to dance together. Regardless of being young, old, blind, physically or intellectually disabled, shy, uncoordinated, athletic; everybody moves together and every *body* is celebrated in the process. http://www.danceability.com/. Danceability have kindly let me use their video to show you one of their children's workshops which describes the vision behind this kind of work.

Check it out:

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            


I want to learn this method, which is not taught here in Australia. The next teacher's certification will be taught soon in Colombia... I am booked into this training and I am determined to get there, no matter what.

If 257 people pledge $15 in the next 24hrs

I want to be an awesome teacher for my special needs ^classes www.canberradancetheatre.org/classes/class-details.html who amaze me and inspire me but challenge my capacity to bring their different skills together...

... But I also have a vision. All bodies should be allowed to dance, to enjoy dance, and to be celebrated through dance. Through dance we can reimagine ourselves and each other.

In a world where people often feel overwhelmed and disconnected, creative practice which allows humankind to express their identity and their camaraderie, becomes a powerful vehicle for social justice.

As the child of a strong willed woman who struggled with a disability until her death, a budding sociologist (aka poor uni student), and an occasional community advocate, this is a project very close to my heart.

I ask you for assistance to experience this cutting edge dance method so I might bring it back to Australia and run workshops for people in the community who do not get the opportunity for whatever reason to dance. Danceability is not here yet and we are missing out!

In return I'll keep you posted as I record my journey via video and blog, and when I come back we can dance together and share the raw awesomeness of others expressing themselves and celebrating the magic our our shared humanity. Spread the word to help me achieve my  vision!                                                                
(Article from the Canberra Times 7/12/2011, the picture is a bit skewed as it is a copy of a copy ;-))
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p.s  Front Page Image: some of my Saturday morning dance crew (these guys are amazing and their amazingness is what inspires me to bring this method back from Colombia)! Thanks guys for letting me use your image, and Mum's and Dad's for letting me use their images too! You rock xxx
                                                                                       

p.p.s The more people contribute to this journey the more convinced funding peeps will be that DanceAbility is something that needs ongoing funding in Australia :-D Unfortunately parliament house refused my request to film dancing on their lawns because I am fundraising at the moment.                                                                                                             
p.p.p.s As I am a penniless undergraduate student this project is utterly impossible without your support!Please contact me if you would like to know more about the project or the project costs xxx                                                    

http://www.facebook.com/groups/quest.to.colombia/       

What is this social justice business? > http://embodimentandsocialjustice.wordpress.com/ <