The Lebanon Dance Project
Donation protected
Friends and family we need your support! After negotiating schedules for close to a year now, my friend and colleague, Roberta Cooper, and I are finally able to travel to Lebanon this fall where we'll be teaching dance and movement classes to children and young adults who are currently living in poverty or have been displaced by war and conflict.
photo: courtesy of Tahaddi
The children we will be serving attend school at Tahaddi, an invaluable organization based in southern Beirut, that 'offers holistic support to families facing extreme economic hardship through education, health and psychosocial services’. Tahaddi’s student body is made up mostly of Syrian refugees and children of the Dom minority, an ethnic group facing enormous challenges due to poverty, prejudice and the inability to gain citizenship. All are in need of enrichment classes and programs, especially ones that can improve their self-worth, provide lasting skills for processing past trauma and current stress and inspire creativity, lightness and laughter. Dance and movement classes can provide just that.
It's not enough to just feed, clothe and house children in need; souls and minds also need to be fed and healed. Many organizations such as Tahaddi do not have the extra funding to cover these much needed programs and we are asking for your help to cover some of our travel expenses. Your generosity is needed to get us physically there where we hope to make a positive impact on these young people's lives.
photo: courtesy of Tahaddi
It is our goal, through the integration of creative movement and dance-making classes and mindfulness-based practices, to help these children find grounding, locate and process their emotions and become empowered in their bodies. It is our hope that they find and experience joy and develop new skills that will help them navigate some of the future challenges they may face.
Monies raised for the project will help cover airfare, housing and a small stipend to offset some of our food costs for two weeks. Funds will also cover photography and videography costs which we will need to secure future funding. We'll be teaching 3-4 classes daily from October 21st– November 1st. Students ages will range from ten on up with a class for young mothers if our schedule permits. Tahaddi has generously offered to pay for our daily travel expenses to and from the school.
We are grateful for any amount that you are able to give at this time to help fund The Lebanon Dance Project.
photo: courtesy of Tahaddi
Melissa: This project is one that I have been contemplating and researching for several years now. As I travel around the globe, the inequity I sometimes see is heartbreaking. People are born every day into challenging circumstances by no fault of their own and a border can create the difference between a life with resources and opportunity or one with very few.
My Arabic percussion instructor, April Centrone, introduced me to Nik Shabazy of IMove – Moving Matters [www.imovefoundation.org] about a year ago and she, in turn, introduced me to the director of Tahaddi. Both women have missions that include provisions for healing and grounding through music and/or dance and each has shared her talents with groups of children and adults. April and Nik have also been wonderful inspirations and resources for me.
It’s my hope to one day grown this pilot project into something larger with greater public and private funding support. I also see the possibility of bringing many more of my gifted dance-maker, teacher and dancer colleagues abroad. It’s an opportunity to help a culture and community I love, heal and prosper as well as an opportunity for all involved to connect to their humanity. It puts to good and purposeful use, the skills I have developed over the past 40+ years as a dancer and choreographer, the same skills that have helped shape some of the best parts of my character.
photo: Carolina Kroon
Roberta: I have always been passionate about the healing practices of various body mind connections and modalities, especially through dance, mindfulness and yoga. I believe that storytelling through movement and the creative arts is integral to emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing and, that creative movement practices significantly improve our socialization skills, build self-confidence and renewal of empowerment that endures.
I am excited to join Melissa in Lebanon for this incredible journey. I am passionate to share the skills, awareness, enthusiasm, and emotional intelligence that I have acquired as a dancer/performer and theater professional. I look forward to assisting and teaching the students of the Tahaddi community. And I strive to share, listen, observe, reflect and communicate the amazing possibilities of the body in motion and to share in the universal joy of dance and wellbeing.
photo: Ari Nahor
More about Tahaddi:
Tahaddi (“challenge” in Arabic) is a Lebanese non-governmental organization, which offers holistic support to families facing extreme economic hardship through education, health and psychosocial services.
Tahaddi predominantly works in the informal settlement of Hay el Gharbeh in southern Beirut. Tahaddi programs prioritize vulnerable Lebanese families, including members of the Dom ethnic minority. Tahaddi also works with refugees, victims of conflict and discrimination, migrants and other stateless populations, irrespective of nationality, religion or social background.
In addition to essential services, our centers advocate on behalf of the community, many of whom are deprived of basic rights. Tahaddi has a longstanding history of advocating for the Dom community, a Lebanese ethnic minority group colloquially called gypsies. The Dom are victims to discrimination and social exclusion, including access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities. Some of them also do not have formal citizenship papers, their legal status perpetuating a cycle of intergenerational poverty.
www.tahaddilebanon.org
Children Leaving Tahaddi Educational Center
photo: courtesy of Tahaddi
Beirut, view from Harissa
Preparation meets the moment of opportunity.
photo: courtesy of TahaddiThe children we will be serving attend school at Tahaddi, an invaluable organization based in southern Beirut, that 'offers holistic support to families facing extreme economic hardship through education, health and psychosocial services’. Tahaddi’s student body is made up mostly of Syrian refugees and children of the Dom minority, an ethnic group facing enormous challenges due to poverty, prejudice and the inability to gain citizenship. All are in need of enrichment classes and programs, especially ones that can improve their self-worth, provide lasting skills for processing past trauma and current stress and inspire creativity, lightness and laughter. Dance and movement classes can provide just that.
It's not enough to just feed, clothe and house children in need; souls and minds also need to be fed and healed. Many organizations such as Tahaddi do not have the extra funding to cover these much needed programs and we are asking for your help to cover some of our travel expenses. Your generosity is needed to get us physically there where we hope to make a positive impact on these young people's lives.
photo: courtesy of TahaddiIt is our goal, through the integration of creative movement and dance-making classes and mindfulness-based practices, to help these children find grounding, locate and process their emotions and become empowered in their bodies. It is our hope that they find and experience joy and develop new skills that will help them navigate some of the future challenges they may face.
Monies raised for the project will help cover airfare, housing and a small stipend to offset some of our food costs for two weeks. Funds will also cover photography and videography costs which we will need to secure future funding. We'll be teaching 3-4 classes daily from October 21st– November 1st. Students ages will range from ten on up with a class for young mothers if our schedule permits. Tahaddi has generously offered to pay for our daily travel expenses to and from the school.
We are grateful for any amount that you are able to give at this time to help fund The Lebanon Dance Project.
photo: courtesy of TahaddiMelissa: This project is one that I have been contemplating and researching for several years now. As I travel around the globe, the inequity I sometimes see is heartbreaking. People are born every day into challenging circumstances by no fault of their own and a border can create the difference between a life with resources and opportunity or one with very few.
My Arabic percussion instructor, April Centrone, introduced me to Nik Shabazy of IMove – Moving Matters [www.imovefoundation.org] about a year ago and she, in turn, introduced me to the director of Tahaddi. Both women have missions that include provisions for healing and grounding through music and/or dance and each has shared her talents with groups of children and adults. April and Nik have also been wonderful inspirations and resources for me.
It’s my hope to one day grown this pilot project into something larger with greater public and private funding support. I also see the possibility of bringing many more of my gifted dance-maker, teacher and dancer colleagues abroad. It’s an opportunity to help a culture and community I love, heal and prosper as well as an opportunity for all involved to connect to their humanity. It puts to good and purposeful use, the skills I have developed over the past 40+ years as a dancer and choreographer, the same skills that have helped shape some of the best parts of my character.
photo: Carolina KroonRoberta: I have always been passionate about the healing practices of various body mind connections and modalities, especially through dance, mindfulness and yoga. I believe that storytelling through movement and the creative arts is integral to emotional, physical and psychological wellbeing and, that creative movement practices significantly improve our socialization skills, build self-confidence and renewal of empowerment that endures.
I am excited to join Melissa in Lebanon for this incredible journey. I am passionate to share the skills, awareness, enthusiasm, and emotional intelligence that I have acquired as a dancer/performer and theater professional. I look forward to assisting and teaching the students of the Tahaddi community. And I strive to share, listen, observe, reflect and communicate the amazing possibilities of the body in motion and to share in the universal joy of dance and wellbeing.
photo: Ari NahorMore about Tahaddi:
Tahaddi (“challenge” in Arabic) is a Lebanese non-governmental organization, which offers holistic support to families facing extreme economic hardship through education, health and psychosocial services.
Tahaddi predominantly works in the informal settlement of Hay el Gharbeh in southern Beirut. Tahaddi programs prioritize vulnerable Lebanese families, including members of the Dom ethnic minority. Tahaddi also works with refugees, victims of conflict and discrimination, migrants and other stateless populations, irrespective of nationality, religion or social background.
In addition to essential services, our centers advocate on behalf of the community, many of whom are deprived of basic rights. Tahaddi has a longstanding history of advocating for the Dom community, a Lebanese ethnic minority group colloquially called gypsies. The Dom are victims to discrimination and social exclusion, including access to education, healthcare and employment opportunities. Some of them also do not have formal citizenship papers, their legal status perpetuating a cycle of intergenerational poverty.
www.tahaddilebanon.org
Children Leaving Tahaddi Educational Center
photo: courtesy of TahaddiBeirut, view from Harissa
Preparation meets the moment of opportunity.
Fundraising team: Arra/Cooper (2)
Melissa Arra
Organizer
Beacon, NY
Roberta Cooper
Team member
