Hi, my name is Belen Macias, I am the dance instructor for MexiDanza.

MexiDanza is a Mexican folklore dance group located in Salinas, California. We have served the Salinas community for over 8 years. Membership and instruction is free of charge. Although MexiDanza is open to anyone in the community, our goal is to provide children and youth of working-class and low-income families the opportunity to be part of a positive dance group and learn more about their culture through the art of dance and music, without having to worry about membership fees. It takes a village... (I know, cliche). I truly believe that if we invest in our kids and sow the seeds of opportunities to grow in character and have something to be personally proud of, we will harvest an abundance of fruits and our communities flourish.

 

Our girls are thriving and ready to dance for the community, but they have outgrown their dresses! Unfortunately, many of our girls cannot afford to purchase the dresses, as they run between $175 to $300 each- plus shoes and accessories. More than half of our current dresses were purchased used- it would be great for ALL of our girls to have the experience of wearing a fresh, new, beautiful dress- they have practiced so hard and deserve it. (We will not replace the dresses that fit and we will be purchasing new dresses for new regions the girls have learned).

To top it off, we lost our practice location due to COVID restrictions. They did not reopen. Know that we continued to practice through ZOOM! That was a challenge but we did it. And when it was deemed safe, we began practicing outside of my home and continue to this day! So yes... we are so ready to perform! If we could only purchase our dresses!

 

It is important to know that we are not a certified "non-profit" group as it costs money to begin that legal process- this makes fundraising a bit hard. We DO NOT charge to perform for the community and have in the past, received small donations of $50 to $100- only enough to pay for a pair of dance shoes.

 

We appreciate any amount of donation. Donations will be used to purchase dresses from Veracruz and practice skirts. The dresses will remain with the group for future members.
If we are blessed enough to exceed our goal, that money will be used to purchase dresses  from another region.  

 

PLEASE SHARE THIS WITH YOUR FRIENDS AND FAMILY!

MexiDanza thanks you for your generosity!