Announcements

COVID 19

Dear Dance Community,

I am making the decision to cancel and postpone my weekly Monday classes in Berkeley and all workshops until further notice.

This decision does not come lightly or easily. My heart is grieving. Yet, I see the benefit for all of us to realize that sickness and healing are not private matters. Our personal immune system and actions have impact, and are directly connected to the global immune system.

What an opportunity to come out of the illusion of separation. What an opportunity for a system change, a shift from individualism/capitalism—the structure of fear, to a new way of being—radical cooperation, trust, crowd wisdom, open sourcing, and unity consciousness.

I have considered this decision over the course of many days, and have conferred with public health physician Deborah Cohan.

There are a few reasons for this:

  • As a leader, I care deeply and abundantly, and have responsibility towards the health of my students, angels and dance allies, and towards the health of the collective and a commitment to the greater good.

  • People who are healthy can become carriers and transmit it to other people without realizing it.

  • People can be infectious before they become symptomatic.

  • People may have mild symptoms because they are otherwise healthy and yet they contagious.

  • People can unwittingly be vectors of contagion that will hitchhike on us and impact those vulnerable to it by age and health conditions.

Let’s protect our health care workers on the front lines of emergency care.

This is a quote from Nicholas Christakis, a social scientist and physician at Yale University. “When we engage in social distancing, it’s not so much that you don’t get infected yourself. The real advantage is that by removing yourself from circulation, you stop all the paths of this virus through you. You are doing a social service, you are helping the community.”

Generally social distancing runs against everything I believe, except in this moment! Let’s do social distancing without isolating, we have the means to stay connected and stop the spread of this virus.

This pandemic shall pass, and we will happily return together to our vibrant, crowded and alive dance floor…and keep dancing anyways…in your home, outdoors. :)

Stay tuned!

With love and care,
Valerie