Happy Sunday, everyone!!
I hope you’ll find today relaxing and rejuvenating. As I am writing to you, I am looking through the window gazing at the slow and soothing movements of the clouds entertaining the Universe and Earth with its contours and composure as well as its vibrant silvery and pearly palette; it is so meditative…
YOGA: CHANGE OF SEASON
This Tuesday will be our last Yoga session of the Winter season. We will have a break for two weeks and we will return on Tuesday 18th April at 11:15am. If you’re free on Thursday 30th March at 11:45am, I will be covering Mokshadarshini’s Yoga class at the Croydon Buddhist Centre.
AFRO DANCE FUSION
The last Afro Dance Fusion Season was absolutely fantastic, there was great energy. All the Funders absolutely loved our work, the choreography, the Dance video as well as the dance promotional video with your feedback, the Funders were absolutely thrilled!! What I loved most personally is the wholehearted connection and your extraordinary dedication as well as your weekly commitment; each one of you was like a gem to me, to the group and to the project; so thank you so much!! For those who are not familiar with the project, one of the themes our Dance Participants embraced was honouring the strength of Mothers, Women and Girls.
The Afro Dance Fusion will return on Sunday 9th April at 1pm. Please try to arrive 10mn before the start of the class. If you haven’t done so, please register now. If you have already done so, that's absolutely brilliant, I am so looking forward to dancing with you, you will receive an email from me shortly. Here is a little recap of what we will be doing for 8 weeks: we will be exploring a fusion of dance styles from Jazz, West Africa, Brazil and Belly Dancing.
The main choreography is inspired by the 30th anniversary of one of Janet Jackson's albums, this premium (VIP) album was given to me by one of my parents' friends, at the time Music Producer at Virgin Records. Back then, I was actually the biggest Michael Jackson fan you could ever possibly find on earth, I knew all the lyrics and everything... However, Janet Jackson's album inspired me so much, I started choreographing, I was 13 and I created my own first dance routines, dance group and performance in my village town hall in Northern France. So I wanted to celebrate that with our Dance Members !!
“Dance is present in human cultures old and new. It is evident in the earliest visual art on rock walls, from France to South Africa to the Americas,” says Kimerer LaMothe, PhD, a philosopher, dancer, and the author of Why We Dance: A Philosophy of Bodily Becoming.
So that you know, for each Dance Project, we usually attend a play or a show in relation to the theme we are exploring. It is great for inspiration, to boost our connection with the Dance Participants and to create a greater sense of well- being. The next shows/ trips scheduled are as follows: 'Alleyne Dance: Far from Home' on Friday 21st April; 'For Black Boys...' on Friday 5th May & (show tbc) on Saturday 29th April. Last but not least, on the last day of the course, we generally go for a “tea and cake celebration”.
YMFA COURSE: NEWS!
To all of you who are waiting for the next Youth Mental Health First Aid course, I would like to sincerely apologise for only coming back to you now. Mental Health England wanted to charge our Participants for the next courses but we have managed to get to the bottom of this as we are fully covered by Croydon Council. So, I am delighted to inform you that we will be delivering the YMHFA courses from April to August 2023 free of charge. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you would like more information in regards to our FREE 2 day Youth Mental Health First Aid Course.
I look forward to seeing you soon!!
Stay safe, stay active; stay healthy!
Awa
Community Movement Practitioner
Founder of The Ojas Centre
theojascentre@gmail.com
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