Embodied practice for racial healing
Don’t You Feel It Too? addresses our present needs for racial healing and cultural change by offering parallel embodied practices of joy and belonging. Everyone is welcome in their respective caucus groups or to the Open Practice. No previous experience is necessary. In this new format the work will be more specific and authentic within and across groups.
“We can be liberated even in the face of so-called external oppression by removing the oppression that we have internalized. People are going to continue their work of externally oppressing all kinds of people for all kinds of reasons which is why it’s so essential we do the work of getting free inside of ourselves.”
BIPOC Practice
Led by ImagineJoy (Demetrius) McClendon, with other members of the DYFIT Cohort
THIRD SATURDAYS, noon-1:15pm
January 15 — Virtual. Meet online at the Zoom link below.
February 19 — Virtual. Meet online at the Zoom link below.
March 19 — Virtual. Meet online at the Zoom link below.
The Ancestors used dance and music for healing, awakening, energizing, connecting, communicating, and understanding. Don’t You Feel It Too? is a contemporary form of old wisdom and a learning process to build BIPOC community. We dance and move, express and heal, create and stay strong as a community in these moments of great challenge and great opportunity.
ZOOM INFO
The summer and fall practices, including October, were outdoors. This winter, we’ll be online-only. Join through Zoom by clicking here. If you are asked for a passcode, it is DYFIT. To join by phone/audio-only, click here for One-Tap Mobile, or dial +1-312-626-6799 with the Meeting ID: 898 8485 4885 and Phone Passcode: 724529. For some cities and countries, there is a local phone number you can call. Find it here.
Past Events:
July 8: Black-Only Practice — online (More Black-only sessions will be scheduled)
August 8: “Moving with Joy: Shaping Change” hosted by Demetrius McClendon and Alanna Morris-Van Tassel / online and on Boom Island / co-sponsored by The Playground NYC
September 23: Black-Only Practice — George Floyd Memorial Square
Demetrius McClendon, who also goes by ImagineJoy, began dancing with street hip-hop at the age of 15. They have traveled nationally and internationally as a professional concert dancer/choreographer sharing their love and passion for the arts. Believing wholeheARTedly in the power of loving action, radical imagination, and spiritual practice, they co-create with others to facilitate experiences that ignite creative possibilities and empower beloved community.
Words from ImagineJoy:
"In a world where set systems of domination feed on hopelessness and despair, it is imperative for BIPOC to have mental, emotional, and spiritual tools that help us remember who we truly are and what is available to us when we choose to move with (and through) all that we feel. I teach the politics of radical self-care, joy, and imagination to enable the process of healing and empowerment. May we continue to dream/move beyond a socio-political reality where we were never meant to thrive."
White Bodies Practice
Led by Or (Laura) Levinson
THIRD SATURDAYS, noon-1:15pm
January 15 — Virtual. Meet online at the Zoom link below.
February 19 — Virtual. Meet online at the Zoom link below.
March 19 — Virtual. Meet online at the Zoom link below.
This weekly practice supports white practitioners of DYFIT in cultivating a sustainable, deeply rooted, and joyous relationship with racial justice and racial healing work. We welcome white bodies at any step in their journey of racial healing and awareness, including those who are new to DYFIT as a practice. Racial justice is a life practice – an embodied approach to bringing our whole selves to the work of liberation, and a way of relating that informs each breath we take together on this earth.
ZOOM INFO
The summer and fall practices, including October, were outdoors. This winter, we’ll be online-only. Join by clicking here. The password, if requested, is DYFIT. To join by phone/audio-only, click here for One-Tap Mobile, or dial +1-312-626-6799 with the Meeting ID: 867 0603 8331. For some cities and countries, there is a local phone number you can call. Find it here.
Laura Levinson (DYFIT Managing Artistic Director), who also goes by Or, feels most at home in motion. They call on the magic of queer Jewish diaspora to remind us that love in transit still has its roots in the earth. Ani l’dodi v’dodi li - we belong to the land. Or is a movement artist, herbalist, and arts organizer. They have been performing and creating work in the Twin Cities for the past 8 years with Wild Conspiracy, Aniccha Arts, BareBones Puppets, and a variety of other beloved collaborators. In 2019 they received an Artist Initiative grant from the MN State Arts Board to produce Dumpster Fire, an evening of Queer & Trans performance at Franconia Sculpture Park. Or has worked with DYFIT since 2015.
Words from Laura:
"More and more of us now are in the process of remembering how to be alive. I crave artistic spaces that glow with the brilliance of alliance, of coalition. I’ve noticed that when our demons get along too well, it’s harder to get free of them (the dark side of affinity groups); but if we shoot at each other all the time, we’ll all be destroyed (the danger of mixed spaces). Where is that fine, sweet sweet line in between - where true solidarity happens?"
Moving in Solidarity: DYFIT as a practice of relationship
Led by Or (Laura) Levinson and Demetrius McClendon (ImagineJoy)
SPECIAL NOTE: The “Moving in Solidarity” sessions are open to anyone who identifies as BIPOC, and are open by invitation to white-bodied people. If you have questions about attending, please email Or (programs@dyfit.org) or ImagineJoy (demetrius.mcclendon@gmail.com).
SATURDAY, MAY 7, 11:00am-1:00pm
11:00-12:00 - BIPOC and White Bodies practices, led by ImagineJoy & Or in separate-ish space (we'll still be visible to one another, while we hold two distinct circles)
12:00-1:00 - OPTIONAL Moving In Solidarity practice, co-led by ImagineJoy and Or. If you are interested, stick around for a second hour of combined movement, centering our shared responsibility to land and water here in Mni Sota Makoce.
What does it mean to dance together toward a human future? In this time of immense upheaval and change, we are still learning to link arms as we face the impacts of colonialism, capitalism, and climate change together. Join DYFIT artists ImagineJoy (Demmetrius) McClendon and Or (Laura) Levinson in a two-hour practice of tending to our own centers, understanding ourselves in context, and experiencing the joy of movement alongside one another.
As always, bring your headphones, water, and a device loaded with some of your favorite tunes. <3
Past Events:
October 2 — Outdoors. Meet in Powderhorn Park in Minneapolis. Specifically, on the east edge of the park by the intersection of East 33rd Street and 14th Avenue South. This month’s practice for "Moving in Relationship: DYFIT as a Practice of Solidarity” will continue last month’s focus on disability justice. We will discuss and move with words from “Care Work: Dreaming Disability Justice,” a collection of essays from Leah Lakshmi Piepzna-Samarasinha.
November 6 — Virtual. Meet online at the Zoom link below.
December 4 — Virtual. Meet online at the Zoom link below.
In this monthly series, we explore how land connects us all.
How to prepare:
To do DYFIT you need to have your pocket music device (like your phone), awesome music, and earbuds. It’s helpful to have a pocket too. Dress for comfort and weather. If you take your practice outside, wear good shoes, and have water and sunscreen as needed. For Covid-19 safety, we require face covering for in-person practice sessions.
INSTRUCTIONS: this is the 10-word set of instructions we will lead you through:
Love your music;
Move honestly (fearlessly);
Feel what you feel.
Safety:
You can do the practice indoors or outdoors. If you practice in a nearby park, we remind you of these general safety measures:
Stay at least six feet away from others outside your household.
Cover your mouth and nose with a cloth face cover or mask.
Be prepared for public restrooms and water fountains to be closed.
Do not use parks if you have COVID-19 symptoms.
If you test positive for Covid-19 within 10 days after participating in an in-person session, please help us trace contacts by emailing info@dyfit.org.
BIPOC Gathering: Mindfulness and Motion
