We end each Reconnect class with a movement meditation:
Send compassion and gratitude to everyone in our dancer circle
Send compassion and gratitude to all of our dancer friends that couldn’t be in the room with us today
Feel the compassion and gratitude we’ve generated here ripple out into the world, making it a better place because we came together today.
This week, the world that needs our loving energy is in our own backyard.
Art as Action started in Boulder in 2002 when I was still a college student at CU. The performance that actually sparked the idea for Art as Action happened at Caffè Sole, in the very same complex where the horrific shooting happened on Monday. Our first decade of shows happened at Dairy Arts Center in the center of Boulder. I have lived in or near Boulder for 20 of the last 23 years.
All of this is to say – I take this personally. Yet, if I allow it to completely take over my faith in humanity, the grief, anger and disappointment will crush me. Me inhaling every piece of news related to this event does not help the people who lost their lives. Me shutting down my heart does not help their families and friends. Us coming together to dance – does.
Our Reconnect dancer community proves that humanity is inherently good, and we are stronger together – especially when we create and inhabit safe spaces where vulnerability and imperfection is welcome. It proves that art helps us understand and grapple with our own humanity, and the humanity of others.
This sounds so grandiose and maybe even a bit pollyanna – especially when, for the past year and foreseeable future, we are coming together over screens from our own homes. But it is actually the opposite.
We have created such a powerful space, such a magical community, it transcends us being in the same physical space.
All of this – and all we have to do is show up and let our gold stars shine.
Yours in Art and Action,
Sarah Leversee
Founder and Artistic Director of Art as Action
P.S. All are welcome at our virtual classes – if you would like to be a part of our dancer community, please email reconnect@artasaction.org for more information. If money is a concern, we have a donor-sponsored Community Class Card offering free classes to those in need.