We had a beautiful event with more than 60 generous dancers and great music by Thierno Diop, Denny Stern, Larry Swanson, Shemayim Elohim and Lance Lu. AND we raised $3,500 that morning toward our goal to fully fund this project. It’s going to happen! It’s not too late for you to donate.
We are most grateful.
click for the pretty version WASSA Flyer – Thanksgiving 2015.
We are so excited for this beloved annual event!!!
WASSA DANCE AND VILLAGE VOLUNTEERS’ 12TH ANNUAL
THANKS-GIVING DANCE BY DONATION.
Thursday morning November 26
9:00 – 10:00 am
Crown Hill Community Building Gym
(same building we’ve been meeting the past nine years, but across the hall. Shoes are fine in this space. )
9250 14th Ave, NW Seattle WA 98117 (Ballard)
Featuring some of Seattle’s finest percussionists & Lara of WASSA DANCE who will lead us in joyful African inspired movement!
This year we will dance to set up a goat dairy project with the Lenana Girls School in Kiminini, Kenya to produce goat dairy products and train students and future farmers in achieving livelihoods in sustainable agriculture. Our goal is to fund 8 goats (6 female and 2 male) and a shelter. The first offspring goats will be given to women farmers who will in turn do the same as this project develops and continues. We invite you to also keep it local by contributing a portion of your donation to Village Volunteers, who keeps all of these programs going throughout the year. You can designate the amount to each on the memo line of your check or a note with cash donations.
All donations are tax deductible and eligible for company matching funds. Can’t attend the event but want to contribute? You can still show your support – send a check with ‘Wassa Dance’ in the memo line to Village Volunteers at 5100 South Dawson, Ste 200, Seattle WA 98118
Contact Lara for event questions, classes & workshops at lara@wassa.realbasicsbuilder.com www.wassa.realbasicsbuilder.com.
Reach Village Volunteers at shana@villagevolunteers.org
www.villagevolunteers.org Ph: 206.577.0515
WASSA DANCE’S
SAVORY AUTUMN INTENSIVE
with Lara McIntosh
Madrona MindBody Institute
Fort Warden in Port Townsend, WA.
Friday Oct. 9 – Sunday Oct. 11th, 2015
Join us for a delicious autumn weekend of inspiration and concentrated experiences of Wassa Dance’s joyful African-infused offerings at one of the Puget Sound’s most beautiful resources for movement studies.
Inspired by the elemental roots of music and moves from Africa and the Americas, this retreat is designed for people who love to move in a nourishing, structured environment. Our sessions will include image-rich movement meditations, floor work and stretching, along with spirited dancing in Wassa’s unique style.
Our lodging option is full.
There is still room for you on the dance floor on Saturday and/or Sunday. We’d love to have you join us.
Please contact lara@wassa.realbasicsbuilder.com for more details.
More about Madrona MindBody Institute.
Here’s the first of the sweet bits from Wassa Dance and Village Volunteers‘ 11th Annual Dance by Donation Fundraiser. We had a most wonderful time with 70+ dancers raising $3,600 in an hour’s class for this year’s micro lending partner SISI FUND in Kenya.
Yes indeed! We will be returning for our 15th beautiful year of dancing at
Kalani Oceanside Retreat Center on the Big Island, Hawaii.
The dates are February 7-13, 2016
Lodging options are limited this round.
Please contact Lara at lara@wassa.realbasicsbuilder.com
Join us this winter in seeding a new season of our potential for ease and joyful vitality.
Come as you are, let the rhythms dance you deeper.
We will be
– cultivating fresh vibrancy in our physical wit and wisdom.
– immersing ourselves in afro-infused dance inspired by some of the best music the world has to offer.
– engaging our senses in the complex natural and cultural beauty that IS the Big Island. Ocean meets lava, mongoose, wild pigs, tree frogs, bird song, hula, solar power, compost, and not so far away strip malls all co-existing while Pele makes the newest earth in the world.
This sweet 6 night island style intensive features daily sessions of movement meditations and personal tuning leading into spirited dance segments in Wassa’s unique ways. Most afternoons and evenings are purposefully left open for participants to enjoy their own experience of the many delights and resources of Kalani and the island
Delicious daily buffet style meals, accommodations and use of Kalaniʼs grounds, pool and spa are included.
* Spontaneous offerings for group or individual sessions TBA.
LODGING OPTIONS / RATES*:
Lodge Rooms: sold out, contact Lara for wait list.
Bungalow: $1,770 single / $1,410 double
Lofts and Treehouses: $1,890 single/ $1,500 double
Tropical Cottages: $2,340 single / $1,710 double
A deposit of $300 holds your space.
Second installment due by Oct. 31 and final payment by December 31, 2015.
*Prices subject to change without notice for unregistered participants.
For island residents or vacationers wishing to attend the daily dance intensive without Kalani lodging or meals, drop-in rates per class and weekly options are available as space allows. Pre-registration is strongly suggested for this option–which also includes a Kalani day pass with each class/series purchased. Lodging and meal options at Kalani may be purchased separately through Kalani.
Kalani Honua Retreat Center: Kalani means Harmony of Heaven and Earth and is located on 19 coastal acres of tropical beauty on the SE coast of Hawaii. Dramatic lava cliffs provide a haven for sunbathers, stargazers, whale watchers and those seeking a deep connection with the earth and sea. Other offerings at Kalani at additional cost include: Hawaiian and Thai massage, Yoga, Bodywork, Watsu (water-based bodywork) and Hawaiiana/Hula Classes.
For more info on Kalani: www.kalani.com
To book airport shuttles, please call Kalani’s Guest Services at 800-800-6886 at least a week prior to travel.
Night time
is the right time
for fun-fun dancing.
Thursdays
Oct. 22 – November 19, 2015
6:15-7:15 p.m.
Balance Studio
418 North 35th Street
Seattle, WA 98103
$ 50 for the series* or use your 10 class card.
Drop-ins are welcome: $15 at the door.
Please contact Lara to sign up.
*no refunds or extensions on individual series purchases
I hope you can join us for a special session of restorative movement on Thursday December 4.
6:15-7:15 p.m. at Balance Studio.
This will be our last Thursday evening session of 2014 and it seems a very good time to slow down and nourish our bodies as we head into this busy winter season.
Use your dance card, monthly subscription and $15 drop in.
We had a blast tonight putting together two pieces of movement that have been cultivated separately over the past 3 months or so!
The movement keeps being informed by different pieces of music. Tonight we danced with MC Solaar’s HIJO de AFRICA and Lala Njava’s VOATSE.
Fun fun fun.
Next session in Dec. 4 and that will be a restorative movement session to close the season.
We’ll pick up the series again in January. I can’t wait!
This show features a blend of international musicians along with some of Seattle’s very talented African and Funk/Blues artists.
Our good friends at Jazz Alley are offering the Wassa Dance community two for one admission if you call in for reservations and mention “Wassa”. Such a deal! That leaves $ for a nosh and a tip for your server at this special show.
For more about the artists and the show: JeConte and the Mali All Stars
I hope to see you there!
This year’s event was a beautiful thing. 65+ dancers of many ages came. We raised $2,500 at the door with more donations coming in and corporate matching funds to add soon. Our musicians Thierno Diop, Caxambu Silverman, Denny Stern, Shemayim Elohim and Larry Swanson created such wonderful music to inspire and bring us all together in movement and spirit. Stay tuned for moire details and images.
Judith Ryan’s Video Postcard from Wassa Dance & Village Volunteers’ Thanks-Giving
Here comes my favorite event of the year where the musicians and I donate our time and ARC DANCE donates the space for this wonderful session that has become a beloved local tradition inviting a broad community to come together, dance, and share our resources with meaningful micro-lending projects in Africa.
Wassa Dance and Village Volunteers’ 11th Annual Thanks-Giving Dance by Donation
featuring some of Seattle’s finest percussionists
and Lara of WASSA DANCE, who will lead us in joyful African inspired movement.
Thursday, November 27th, 2014 9:00 -10:15 a.m.
at ARC DANCE 9250 14th Ave. NW Seattle WA 98117 (Ballard)
(Please plan to dance barefoot at this event!)
Dance with us and contribute to a woman’s opportunity for economic freedom and independence.
Donations will go to the SiSi Fund (“Sister to Sister”) and Lenana Girls School students in Kiminini, Kenya. Your donations will provide small micro-loans to women, helping them start a micro-enterprise and will provide young women entrepreneurs with internship opportunities.
All donations are tax-deductible and eligible for company matching funds.
If you can’t attend and want to contribute, send a check with “Wassa” on the memo line to: Village Volunteers, 5100 South Dawson Street, Suite 202, Seattle, WA 98118
For More Information:
Contact Lara for event questions: lara@wassa.realbasicsbuilder.com
Wassa Dance: www.wassa.realbasicsbuilder.com
Village Volunteers: www.villagevolunteers.org, shana@villagevolunteers.org or 206-683-6681