Educate and empower at-risk children through dance

Last June, the team of Fundación Gramo Danse and its students celebrated DANZÁREA’S anniversary with an afternoon of games, magic and fun. We are very proud of our achievements for the past 11 years, and we are excited on what is yet to come, thanks to your support!

Since our last report in April, many things have happened and we are happy to share them with you:

APRIL:

We held “Beauty without Filters”, a fair for our students and their families. We worked with the children and young people to reinforce their self-esteem, their perception of themselves, and the value of the inner beauty that each person possesses.

DANZÁREA participated in the celebration of the International Dance Day. A group of our students danced for a large audience at the Balboa Theater. We are very proud of them!

MAY:

May 17th is National Recycling Day. We walked, researched, and learned about our environment and our city with visits to the Biomuseo (Biodiversity Museum) and the ruins and museum of Panama Viejo, the cradle of our city 500 years ago.

As it could not be missing, DANZÁREA takes a delegation of students to perform at the National Recycling Day Fair organized by FAS Panamá, where they had the opportunity to dance before the visitors of this celebration.

Our friends from the TV channel TVN visited our space. They produced and presented a report on DANZÁREA, in their segment "Gente que Inspira" (People who Inspire). They featured teacher Nereyda (DANZÁREA’S director) and Meibys, a student who has been part of our program for several years. (to see the video in Spanish, look for the link at the bottom of this report)

JUNE:

On June 14^th , DANZÁREA opened its doors to family and friends, so they could appreciate the progress our students made during the past four months in the program. Parents and friends were surprised by all the new skills acquired.

Fundación Gramo Danse joined the 5th Reforestation Day nationwide, in an effort to plant 1 million hectares throughout the country in the next twenty years. Employees, volunteers, teachers and students of DANZÁREA worked in groups, to plant around 11 species of trees, from loggers to fruit trees in parcels of land at Universidad Tecnológica de Panamá (UTP) in Chorrera.

To close the month of June, we also had DANZÁREA’S teachers evaluations, who are currently implementing the new aerial and contemporary dance fusion curriculum created last year.

What comes next:

We are in the process of planning the third quarter and most importantly, the students´ annual show. This year it will be about the Isthmus of Panama and its biodiversity. SPOILER ALERT: It will be called "PANARAMA"!

We cannot say goodbye without announcing that on July 18^th we will participate in a great Bonus Day, in which GlobalGiving will match donations over $100 received on that specific day. We would love to continue counting on your support, so if you want to join us in this campaign, do not forget to SAVE THE DATE: JULY18th!

Links:

• TVN Report
• Website

During the month of February, 45 students participated in our intensive summer course, in preparation for the year-round program 2019.

On March 18th, we initiated our year-round program in DANZÁREA. We have had significant progress in our effort to reach our goals for this year.

• We held our first auditions for the year. As a result, 20 new students will be joining our program.
• We also trained our instructors. The first stage of the training included teaching tools and techniques, and conflict management based on the Social Circus program from Cirque Du Soleil. During the second stage, teacher Monica Newsam, who came from the United States, trained our instructors in the application of our academic curriculum of aerial dance that was developed during 2018 together with DANZÁREA’s director, Nereyda Rey.
• During March, we also had an interactive workshop on "Bullying" organized by our social worker and led by psychologist and volunteer Ana Raquel Ramsey. She shared her knowledge and experience with the children, to help them recognize problems of harassment, how to defend themselves and how to avoid being victims of bullying.
• Also in March, we carried out, together with actress and theater teacher Mariela Aragón, a theater workshop for our children and parents, in which the students were able to share their love for art and culture with their families, and learn in a playful and safe environment.

Beginning this month, we will begin the process of formal registration of students, and we hope to keep the positive energy by working more and more for our youth.

Thank you all for your support