Happy Friday Reader,

Sending out a quick message before I run to school pick up to let you know about 2 awesome events happening tomorrow:

RE|Dance is having their Movement & Mimosas on Saturday from 12:30-2:30pm at the Rooted Space. This event is SO FUN. There's drinks, there's snacks, and Lucy teaches an upbeat ALL LEVELS jazzy dance class.

Last time they did this I brought a friend who had a BLAST... and then I found out she had never taken a dance class before.

Seriously. It's so much fun. And it supports a local Chicago dance company.

Have questions? Lucy has answers over on the 'gram. ​

The other thing happening tomorrow is that I'll be back in the classroom teaching dance for the first time in a long while. This Adaptive Dance class at McFetridge Sports Center is for kids ages 6-10 with physical disabilities.

My entire teaching philosophy is built around ever single person being born a dancer. I've long believed that dance classes should be a joyful place of learning and expressing and belonging. What I've noticed however, is that while many classes say "all are welcome", not all are designed for disabled bodies. Instead, they allow all to join, even if the curriculum doesn't enable full participation.

By teaching through a framework of dance fundamentals, this class will give students the opportunity to move with originality in their individual way. This is done through the lens of foundational movement pillars:

Space (are we staying in one place or moving through the room? are we making our body big or small? High or low? What pathway are we taking?)

Time (are we moving slow or fast? what is the rhythm of our movement)

Energy (are we moving with heaviness or lightness?)

Body (what body parts are we using? what shape are we creating with our body?)

Please help me in spreading the word about this class. The first event is Saturday and there are two more classes this fall.

Yours in creativity,

Jen