By Liza Tague, member of Friends of G&P
The 2nd annual Friends of G&P Dance-A-Thon took place on Saturday January 28th and the G&P gym was alive with great music, awesome moves, joyous laughter and the kids’ amazing energy. Many thanks to all the students and parents who came out to dance and raise money for Graham & Parks! Special shout out to G&P Occupational Therapist Regine Valentin, who along with her daughter , joined us with grace and great moves.
The day was divided into three class-demonstrations put on by the generous and talented teachers from the non-profit Dance Complex. First, Mestre Chuvisco brought his adult students to teach Capoeira--a Brazilian mix of martial arts, dancing and acrobatics. We learned that Capoeira is not only an incredible art form but it is also a celebration of community. We sang in Portuguese and clapped to encourage each and every dancer.
Next, Yosi Karahashi brought the gym to a standstill with her incredibly intricate castanet playing. She shared the storied history, demonstrated Flamenco and taught the kids "golpes"—the emphatic foot stomps that add to the drama of this age old dance form.
Finally, Coach Cedric and Chanel from the Boston Mobile Dance Studio got everyone moving with high-energy Hip Hop moves and lots of fun poses. We ended by learning the dance moves in Michael Jackson’s hit music video, Thriller.
Many of you have asked how to get in touch with the wonderful teachers for classes for your kids or yourselves. They all teach at the non-profit Dance Complex in Central Square,
www.dancecomplex.org or 617-547-9363.
We ended the day with cupcakes and the great news that we had raised $1,148.50. Thank you all so much for making the Dance-A-Thon such a success. Many thanks to volunteers Anna Henchman, Kris Dickson, Sarah Smith, Lena Bruno, Sue Tierney, Jessie Scanlon, Liza Tague, and Caryn Monahan for all their hard work in putting this together and special thanks to Ena Valenzuela for her creativity, enthusiasm and leadership in making this fun event happen. If you would like to help Friends of G&P with more community events or have ideas you would like to share with us, please join us at our meetings, the first Friday of each month in the lobby, or e-mail us at
[email protected].