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Stories That Move Us

Story #25 – Chantal Sampogna

DSC_1339Courage. Luna taught me about courage, and the importance of having a space in which courage can develop. Every bit of choreography, and every bit of relationship -building, is risk taking.

I first met Luna: a dance world, when I met Patricia at UC Berkeley in 1991. Luna, and all its possibilities and breath, spilled out of Patricia, and out of Luna’s first home on Park Blvd, that day and every day thereafter.

Patricia introduced me to modern and creative dance, and to all the freedom, connection, and strength that grows from this ever self-reflective and community-building dance world. I had the opportunity to dance in Patricia’s company, to be inspired by the many professional women who took evening classes after their long days at work, and the many, many children and families that walked through Luna’s doors every week to dance. It welcomed the dancer within me in such stark contrast to the world of ballet from which I had come.

Luna taught me about the development of choreography – how we graft our exploration, initiation, choices, emotions, history, dreams, and communication to form our dance. As a new dance teacher, I had the opportunity to sit around a dining room table with the Luna Kids Dance founders, with recently printed dance flyers and Luna sandwich board signs at our sides, and bear witness to the deconstruction of generally accepted dance curriculum. In true Luna form, we challenged every assumption, questioned the role and delivery of technique when developing young choreographers, and rebuilt Luna’s studio lab and professional learning curriculum to honor the child and child expression. Luna’s early teacher development programs taught me more than any legal training I have had about the child as participant, in relationships, as witness, and communicator; these trainings strengthened my resolve to continue serving children through our legal system and to continue challenging my own dancing into my adult life.

For children and families living within our foster care system, one might think that physical self-expression – dancing as individuals, learning about others through watching their dances, and dancing together – would be a luxury not to be brought to these families separated due to abuse or neglect. Patricia and Nancy challenged me to further my query about whether Luna’s parent/child dance classes could be brought to these families, families I was working with as a dependency attorney. Over the past 17 years, MPACT (Moving Parents and Children Together) has also provided its children and families a safe space to find their courage to witness each other, to look each other in the eyes, to create together, to dance together, and to find the courage to learn about their self-expression, and relating to their child or parent, while others are watching. Through my work with MPACT I learned more about Luna – how the spiral of query, exploration, patience, and reflection builds relationships and dance, shifting them out of day-dreams and into reality. At the same time, Luna supported my personal query of whether I could live in both the dance and legal worlds as an adult and as a mother. A truer gift I could never have received.

Over the past nine years on Luna’s Board, I learned even more about Luna’s commitment to its values as a feminist and social justice organization. Luna continuously challenges itself to dispel myths about the role a dance organization can play — Luna is a local, statewide, and national leader in dance and parent/child dance education. Luna is committed to providing its dance teaching artists with competitive salaries and benefits, has established itself as a major advocate towards teacher credentialing; and is constantly bringing dance to all children and all children to dance.

Dancing with children and diving deep with them into concepts of space, force, and time continues to feed me individually, as a parent, and attorney. My time dancing with my sons, Dominic and Leed, has made us happy, brought us laughter, and deep understanding of each other. Leed was born on Luna’s birthday and International Women’s Day and Patricia was at his birth. Patricia’s connection to time, body, need, and breath, as well as how she leads others to bring themselves and what they want to offer forward, made that birthing experience a forever life changing event in so many ways.

Luna continues to influence my parenting every day – when I make eye contact, mirror, and shadow dance with my sons; it has helped me to make space for, and welcome, their rolling and tumbling; to appreciate their own self-query when they move smoothly and contrast it with sharp jabs; when they move over and under each other. Just the other day, after a difficult day, I saw Leed, my four-year-old, begin to dance in the living room. It was subtle – he did a mild roll, placed one hand and foot on the ground and lifted his other leg high and over, till he was sitting. He was dancing. I joined him – we did some over and under, some connected shoulders and heads, and crawled and slid; Dominic, my almost nine-year old joined. I lifted him, our arms crossed, we danced low – and then I spun him – my young boy, now 4’ 6” and 60 lbs, wanted to be spun and held by his mom — the vestibular, one of Dominic’s favorites – and the trust and security, we can find when dancing with someone. His joy and comfort and release was immense.

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #24 – Heidi and Schuyler’s Dance – Video by Heather Stockton

Board member & professional learning client Heidi Opheim Sawicki with son and modern dance composition student Schuyler, share their story with a dance!

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #23 – Miss Agnes Lyons: An Impassioned Advocate for Children, Families and Seniors

ms agnes 2017By Nancy Ng

Miss Agnes is an early childhood educator, thespian, social service provider, community volunteer and mother that I have had the privilege of knowing for the last 17 years. We first met when Luna’s MPACT program was launched as a pilot at the Solid Foundation’s centers in Oakland. Miss Minnie Thomas was the director of the Solid Foundation, and Miss Agnes was her “right-hand” woman, and the manager at Mandela 2, one of their residential treatment centers where Luna taught hundreds of classes for 13 years. The Solid Foundation closed its doors in May 2013, and I attended the celebration to commemorate their closing day. Women whose lives had been deeply affected by both Solid Foundation leaders came from all over the Bay Area and California, and a few other states as well to honor this agency and the incredible grassroots community-driven work of Miss Thomas and Miss Agnes.

Over the many years of our partnership, Miss Agnes and I established a strong working relationship and a friendship. While a manager at the Solid Foundation she was instrumental in ensuring that the women and children could attend Luna events outside of the three residential centers where MPACT classes occurred. For Luna’s 10th anniversary she drove one of the vans on her day off so that more women could celebrate with us. She also attended several of Luna’s GALAs where the evening would end with her bringing loaves of Acme bread that had been donated to the GALA to the residential centers for the following day’s meals.
She retired from the Solid Foundation before they closed, and during her retirement became involved with Stagebridge’s senior theatre program. I was able to see her perform in a Stagebridge play at the Ashby Stage—she was fantastic! And, she also came to a few adult creative dance classes at the Luna studio. Miss Agnes and I occasionally meet for lunch or speak on the phone to catch up with Luna’s programs, her volunteer work, and our families. In preparation for writing this story I spoke with her a few weeks ago, and I was amazed by her vitality and commitment to social service during her retirement years.

When I called she was in the middle of writing and sending cards to the senior citizens she knows. She knows about 25 seniors, and every day she communicates with several of them by sending them cards or calling them on the phone to chat. She told me, “I talk to them, give them encouragement, and someone to talk to.” On Mondays she volunteers for the Telecare program on the Herrick Campus at Alta Bates Summit Medical Center. She speaks with social worker referred homebound seniors to check in on them and give them support. On other days of the week she is a Stagebridge volunteer for a literacy program, travelling to various Oakland public school 3rd-5th grade classrooms as a storyteller.

I asked Miss Agnes to tell me about her love for dance—What was her experience as a dancer? What does she remember about the dance experiences with the families at Mandela 2?

She shared that when she was younger; she was a “really quiet person” who did not know how to communicate. Her school girlfriend was more outgoing and an exceptionally good dancer. This friend taught her how to dance, and then Miss Agnes would watch others dance and then she took dance classes. I remember her telling me that she took social dance classes while at the Solid Foundation. While speaking on the phone last week she said, “I enjoy dancing and love dancing tremendously.”

Her memories of MPACT at Mandela 2 are that the teachers supported the moms to see their children and appreciate their children’s abilities. She remembers the children dancing on their own during the week after an MPACT class. Miss Agnes said, “I appreciate Luna coming in to teach and interact with the children and their mothers—they could exercise and be free.”

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #21 – Vanina Doce-Mood (MPACT mother & intern) Interview by Cherie Hill

palomaI remember meeting Vanina at an MPACT class with her family in 2012, and admiring how dedicated she was to dancing with her child, and to the program. She knew quite a few other families, whom I later learned were part of her parent-run co-op. For years, she or husband brought their daughter to dance with us. When classes were huge, they volunteered to help pass out the snack. Now, I have the pleasure of training Vanina in teaching family dance, and I am in awe at how natural leading families appears for her, and her quick ability to improvise when needed in the moment. After a day of robust MPACT teaching I sat down with Vanina to capture parts of her story.

Cherie- What are your strongest memories of participating in MPACT?

Vanina -I remember when I started going to the Emeryville studio. At the first class Paloma was 13 months old and she was dressed in this tutu. We have a picture of Erin playing the drum and she is bouncing. Paloma is looking up at her like what is she doing, and she is flexing her knees and watching Erin with an amazed look in her eyes. I have so many memories. It was great because we were attending with all the families from our co-op. We met Rianne there and she became part of our co-op. Coming to MPACT helped us with being in a co-op because we bonded differently. We became a small family and doing MPACT together made us a stronger community. We were taking care of each other kids with lots of challenges and differences. It was always a happy place for us to be even for me, and my husband Michael too. It put us in a good mood and it was nice that Paloma could see this.

Cherie – What inspired you to become an intern?

Vanina – I had been with you guys for so long and I really believe in your mission. We share the same values. Dance for building relationships was very inspiring, and when you asked me to intern I couldn’t believe it. I knew this was a way to help others be happy. It’s like when you are doing Zumba, and in the moment you forget about everything and are in a good mood. The community and social justice aspect appealed to me a lot. I didn’t experience it in full until I became an intern, but I could see what we do translating to other families who are in different situations. Dance can help and heal them, maybe not completely, but it can. In 2013 I experienced a rough time that was really hard for me. Dance was my sacred space and I became a Zumba instructor. It was such a dark moment for us and I remember when Deborah called me on the phone to invite us to MPACT, I was coming out of my depression and craziness, but it was amazing because that is what I wanted to do. Dancing was my therapy and way to get out of the darkness.

Cherie – Where do you see yourself headed now?

Vanina – I want to continue to bring dance to communities that need it even if they don’t know they need it, like communities that cannot make dance a priority because they have so much going on. I want to help families within the system or work with adoption centers. With all the trainings I feel more confident and understanding of the challenges some families face. When kids have more challenges in their mental or physical development, I now have a deeper understanding and more compassion for those families then before. I can try to imagine what it means to have a traumatic experience that a kid has to go through. I’m very thankful to all of you especially you for your support and trust in me. Your encouragement to do it!

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #20 – Expanding the Realm of Movement: one student’s journey from MPACT to Luna’s Studio Lab

DSC01597Interview by Nancy Ng.

Nathan Jacobson is currently a student in Luna’s Studio Lab creative dance improvisation class. I first met Nathan’s mother, Irene Jacobson, several years ago at the Oakland site of Family Support Services of the Bay Area. They provide home-based and community-based respite services to parents and caregivers of vulnerable children, and they had asked us to bring MPACT parent-child and parent education classes to their site. I had a chance to speak with Irene and interview her during Nathan’s dance class. Here is their story:

Nancy: Tell me about how you first got to know Luna Dance, or your first experience?

Irene: My first experience with Luna Dance was your presentation at Family Support Services of the Bay Area . . . for respite providers there at their office. You had come and given a discussion about [the] psychological, biological, physiological development of the child’ awareness and development of the child. You had done that and it had sparked my interest and I wanted to go and try it for Nathan’s sake. You had mentioned the program MPACT. I think you had recommended that to me and I gave it a try. What was nice was that it was at the libraries, like at Fruitvale, and we could take BART – we live near a BART station. We could make a big deal of it to go, walk to the BART station and get on BART to go and have an hour of dance, and it was really enjoyable. He was not very responsive all the time, we would be side-by-side with the parents. The leaders were very good and were just very encouraging. Just the idea, like what we’re doing now, trying to expand his awareness which will be a life-long endeavor of ours. And I guess just being around lots of other kids and other parents, and just a lot of activities. And, I don’t know it just seemed very beneficial to him. It was through the MPACT program that someone would say “spin”, and two or three times, he did actually respond. Nathan, we’re all going to spin, and that started in the MPACT program, to follow a direction; and it would of course be a direction that he understood and enjoyed doing.

The warm-ups he does with Deborah, he responds very well to that. Anyway, it was at the MPACT program I saw him enjoying a movement, as spinning – either on the floor on his bottom or standing up, it was the first movement that brought a smile to his face. It seemed to give him so much joy, from hearing someone ask for it, and doing it, and having fun, what a concept. That was years ago.

Nancy: How old is Nathan now? I remember meeting you at family services – was he four?

Irene: He couldn’t crawl until he was 23 months . . . with weight on his hands.

Nancy: And, I remember in the beginning he didn’t crawl.

Irene: 28 months he started to walk

Nancy: So maybe like at two, he wasn’t walking, and if he crawled it wasn’t very often.

Irene: I can’t remember. I guess the whole point was to give him some awareness of himself, and it is still a struggle today, but we’re working on it. And like response to others . . . my dream is to have cooperative something. You know, response where someone does something and he responds to it. Oh, or helping; often he helps, but with prompting. He is not fully aware. And taking verbal cues, “Oh Nathan, we are going to do this now.” He is able to that better now. I am just trying to find a way to keep him out of his own world, and be in the rest of the world; and I felt that the MPACT was a great way to start doing that.

Nancy: We knew you and Nathan in MPACT, and then there was a point you weren’t coming to classes.

Irene: I can’t remember why.

Nancy: I can’t remember why, either. And then you called about our Studio program, and it took me a long time to get back to you; I am embarrassed to say, but then I called you. I am curious about the impetus to enroll him again—to come back to Luna for one of our programs.

Irene: I just wanted him to have more of the movement and the body awareness. I don’t know what made me, maybe I just was frustrated. I think he was getting services at Kaiser, and that stopped . . . PT (physical therapy) and OT (occupational therapy), and speech. They were getting it through Easter Seals, but then they dropped us because he wasn’t improving quickly enough . . . and that doesn’t make sense. Anyhow, so there was like a void, and I felt I needed to fill that void. He was getting ABA for his autism at our home.

Nancy: What is ABA?

Irene: Applied Behavioral Analysis, which is a Skinner approach to play theory. They work with the child on responsiveness and so on, which is great; but I guess I was thinking if just doing this was working for us anymore. In other words, he is getting therapies through various agencies—medically, psychological services – physical and mental. I felt there was something more he needed. I guess I just want him to break out.

NN: What do you see that the dance does? You talked a little bit about it. Do you want to share anything more about how you see dance supports what you would like to have for Nathan?

IJ: I guess my sixth sense tells me that when you move and you expand yourselves in different ways—expanding his realm of movement I feel like opens doors to his psychological, spiritual and emotional development. I just feel like enjoyment of opening him up, there’s that, and there’s the part where following directions and working within a structure, and sharing an experience with other children and the movement; he seems to like that from time to time. Like if a bunch of us are running, it’s sort of exciting, and that brings a smile to his face. I just think neurologically, there’s a real advantage to moving and expanding your realm of movement. I don’t know.

NN: I think you do know.

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #19 – Erin Lally, dance teaching artist & mother by Jochelle Perena

erin & felix“I felt like with that work (MPACT) I was making a true difference in people’s lives.”

Watch former Luna dance teaching artist and family service manager Erin Lally’s story here.

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #18 – From Luna Teaching Artist to Dance Therapist by Julia Marx

juliamarxThe lessons and legacy of my time working at Luna Dance Institute have been formative in my life as a professional and as a mother. I began working as an intern with Luna in 2003, became an employee into 2004. I worked as a development associate, and dance teaching artist for special needs preschool and elementary school classrooms as well as in the MPACT program. Luna’s mission of bringing creativity, equality and community to every child through dance aligns so deeply with my own professional and personal goals that each role I held for Luna allowed me to become more fully myself. In particular one aspect of my work for Luna which I valued enormously was the way the structure of the organization embraced each employee as a multifaceted individual who could simultaneously hold multiple roles. At Luna, everyone was an artist valued for their creative input, an administrator or coordinator valued for their intellectual and organization contributions, a teacher valued for what we had to give to others, a student valued for what we could learn, and a member of a community valued for how we worked together. I felt uniquely embraced in my working life as whole person; body, mind and spirit.

Now as a self-employed mother of three, I refuse to give up on that holistic integrity to what is possible in my life and career.

I have gone on to become a registered Dance Movement Therapist and currently work individually with young children experience developmental delay, autism, ADHD, anxiety, attachment difficulty and early trauma. I also continue to teach attachment focused parent-child dance classes, which my own children, ages 6, 4 and 2, have all attended with me. I teach a dance program for people with Parkinson’s disease and I teach dance in special needs preschool classroom. Through my multiple roles and contexts, I carry the lessons and memories from my work at Luna. I am deeply grateful for the mentorship I received from Nancy and Patricia as well as for how my experiences working at Luna shaped who I am today as a parent, teacher, and therapist.

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #16 – Connections Sustained Over Time by Patricia Reedy

black and white two girls danceIn my 25 years at Luna, a surprising aspect of our work has been to witness how dance often provides continuity. For some families, dance class is one of the most consistent things in their lives. We might see a child dancing with a foster parent in MPACT classes at one library. The next year, we see that same child at a residential center with her biological mother. Later, we find her again in second grade dance class at the public elementary school. This happens again and again.

One of my favorite continuity success stories is about the Love* family. We first saw the Loves in 2009. I was observing and video-taping an MPACT class at the West Oakland Library as part of a research study. That class happened to be larger than usual, perhaps a group of 21 adults and children were moving through the space. I noticed one mother dancing with a girl about 6 years old. After a few moments, she took the girl out of the room and then returned with a younger girl, about 3. This continued throughout the class. Afterward, I met up with the mother and her social worker in the lobby. Before I could ask her about the repeated ins and outs, she blurted out that she was totally overwhelmed, that the older child had autism and from the moment the little sister was born she was extremely jealous. The mother was a wreck trying to hide the love of the little one from the big sister because she was afraid she would hurt her. She felt guilty about not being able to give to the little one, but she was so afraid. The social worker also told us that this was the last time she would be accompanying the mother to the class—from now on, she was on her own. I encouraged her to return and set to work with my co-workers about how we could support her dancing with both girls at the same time.

The mother’s dedication was profound—she attended every class of the 8-week session with both daughters. On the last day, she said that she felt sick and wanted to sit out. The older daughter piped up, “I will be the mother in this dance class!”and led her younger sister joyfully through all the activities.

The Love family followed us from library to library. Eventually, the older daughter was given a scholarship to our afterschool studio program. Her mother brought her on-time, religiously, along with the younger sister who watched. One day, as I was observing class, the younger sister told me, “I’m going to be a dancer just like my big sister!” And dancer she was! Eventually, we had to find funds for both girls to attend. The little one had the dance bug—she was inventive, engaged, and engaging to watch.

After a few years, they moved to a suburb about 40 minutes from us and the mother continued to bring them both weekly until she found a job that did not allow the time. Last year, I learned that both Love girls came back and this time they danced together in the 7-11 year old Modern Dance Class! The experience of Ms. Love and her daughters humbled me—once she saw a bond possible, she committed herself to strengthening the connection between the sisters. The dedication it took to provide opportunities for her children to express themselves through dance required a great deal of commitment, trust, and perseverance (not to mention driving!) I will never forget this amazing family.

*pseudonym

Photo: Matt Haber

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #15 – Stepping Out…by Amelia Uzategui Bonilla

DSC01703Micaela is a bright first-grader at International Community School in East Oakland with dark curly hair tied in a high side ponytail decorated with a colorful ribbon. When I first met her in the Fall, she had a difficult time interacting in the dance class. She would stand still, off to the side while other students danced through the room. Her teachers’ told me that they had recommended an IEP, Individualized Educational Program, to help her get the support they imagined she needed.

In the following weeks, Micaela started to stand by me during dance class and narrated everything she saw her classmates doing. She pointed to a colorful rug on the floor with the alphabet and pictures of animals. The students slithered on their bellies; she ran and pointed to a picture of a snake next to the letter S. She excitedly said, “They are slithering like snakes!” When we worked on shapes, she looked around at the whole room of dancers holding their still shapes, and said, “They are frozen like ice statues.” I asked students to melt down to the low level and she whispered, “…like the ice melting on a hot day.”

After about 3 weeks of observing, Micaela started dancing. She seemed to take my indication very seriously, “find the empty space.” I saw her jogging around her classmates’ bodies in the middle level, her arms carving out the empty space in front of her. She also began proudly inventing her own shapes, repeatedly holding a shape balancing on one leg, with her arms straight over her head, and her leg at a 90 degree angle in front of her. She held that shape for a long time and said, “Amelia! Do you see me?”

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
Stories That Move Us

Story #14 – Why We Love Luna! by Rochelle Vaughn (Studio Lab parent)

DSC01179While looking for extracurricular activities four years ago for my now 11-year old daughter Renee, I happily discovered Luna Dance Institute. Over the years we have found the Luna experience to be one of the most positive for choreographed movement for children and youth in the Bay Area. Young dancers are allowed to explore space and movement with guided instruction utilizing planned curriculum – something we had not experienced in other dance classes.

Since attending classes at Luna, I have observed that my daughter (as well as others too) has become more aware of her body in space. She has also been complimented many times for her poise and self-awareness. At Luna, independent choreography and team choreographed moves are encouraged, which seems to inspire the young dancers to develop higher levels of self-confidence and a team attitude. Luna’s programs are rich in communal spirit with the direct involvement of a most experienced and caring staff each well versed in their craft.

I am especially taken with the freedom that she was empowered with to create and dance.

We keep coming back to Luna because we love it!

Jochelle Perena
July 27, 2018
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