The Dancing Class

I remember when I received my first pair of ballet shoes. Everything inside of me came alive. At two years old, I tried to spin and twirl as much as I could until I wore myself out.  There was something magical in those shoes. They opened my eyes to this whole new world - one that I got to move through and create with my own body. I didn’t need anything else, but me and my dancing shoes.

Sometimes there wasn’t even music and I would just wiggle like there was. Dance was joy, it was peace, it was friendship, invitation for me to look crazy and still put smiles on peoples faces.

But most of all… it meant dreaming and creating. Something we have all been made to do.

For most of my life- I have wondered about the little girls that couldn’t dance like I could. Where were they? Why didn’t they get to have ballet shoes too? Even as a little kid- you can ask my mom- I was the peacekeeper and the justice fighter. I remember how happy I was when my little sister got to take her first ballet class too. Let me tell you- I will never stop crying when I watch that little girl move. Dancing with my sister brings me more joy than anything in the world.

As I grew older, this turned into my heart being set on fire with the question “do they get to create there?” Thinking about refugee camps,  women in orphanages, our homeless brothers and sisters- sometimes it keeps me up at night. This has turned into grand visions transforming innovation globally and launching creative movements- which I’d love to share if you’d like to meet up some time for coffee or tea.

I’ll be truthful - I walked away from dance and the arts for a long time. Quite honestly, I convinced myself that it was time to put the shoes away multiple times after graduating (that’s a whole other chapter). It wasn’t “practical” to pursue it. I needed to work and make a living and a life. What’s funny is I still work in an incubator- aka a space for creatives- so he wouldn’t let me escape FULLY.

But let me tell you if God made you to do something, he LETS YOU KNOW (my journey of faith will be a whole chapter too- or maybe even a book).

So last Sunday, I was sitting in church and God showed me an image of a little refugee girl in the heart of France getting her first pair of ballet shoes. Like a Degas painting, she was elegant, full of life, with the heart of a child.  The spirit came alive in her and like a little princess she brought the light into her little tent. I started balling as God connected France, ballet’s roots, the refugee crisis, creation, a lifetime of dance classes all together for ‘such a time as this**.’ We set out to gather 500. 

So here we go. This is the first time in my life, I can honestly say, I HAVE NO IDEA WHAT I AM DOING- but I know he does. A pair of ballet shoes costs $11 and could change a little girl’s life. Our goal is to take 500 pairs to the little girls in orphanages and refugee camps all over the world. We believe that God is just getting started though. He wants his dancers back and his creatives too.

There are so, so many ways to get involved: prayer, donate for 1-2-3 or maybe even 50 pairs of shoes, share your testimony about how dance has impacted your life… however you feel you’d like to contribute (we are talking about creativity here!), we’d love you to be involved.  

With love,
Casey Margarite and all of God’s daughters
The future tiny dancers

**Esther 4:14