Back in 2016 I took a group of student dancers from P.S. 184 to the Dance Parade in Manhattan, New York City. We danced the parade route, we performed on stage at Tompkins Square Park, we were featured on the local news, and we made it into the local paper. I had the honor of showing my students parts of their city that they were unaware of. I enjoyed bringing them to an event whose existence is a testament to the unifying power of dance as an art form. In short, It was a transformative experience for all of us. The photo for this fundraiser is a photo from that day.

The following year I decided to have knee surgery and exercise some self care. Lots of other stuff went down, CoVid etc. and my little dance club was nor more...until now. In January, I started teaching an after school dance and movement class. I have a much smaller group of students than I did back in 2016, but I grew that program from a few kids over the course of several years. Our trip that year was a culmination our growth as a community of dancers. This year we have had about 10 practices and not all of us are comfortable with the idea of performing in front of an audience, however all of the students have expressed an interest in attending this years Dance Parade on May 18th; just to see what it's all about. A few of us might even get down in a dance ciphers or two. I want to start growing the (street) dance community at my school again.

Th purpose of fundraiser is to help offset the cost of getting some gear so we look Fresh AF lol. The uniforms in the fundraiser photo were funded in my only other GoFund Me campaign. I remember being overwhelmed by people's generosity, and my students were grateful as well. I'd like to get my newbies some adidas sweat pants and perhaps matching crew tee shirts, and maybe even some hats.