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| September 10 First dance of the season! |
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Just Dance… A New Era…. A personal message from Abheeru When: Saturday August 21 In the past 17 years, Just Dance (JD) - a nonprofit event - has prevailed and thrived because of the continued support of fabulous volunteers. Their extensive contributions have made it possible for JD to offer a vibrant, safe and unique dance experience to the Vancouver community. As the creator and overall coordinator, I have been wearing many, many behind-the-scenes and organizational hats as well as doing the necessary research and preparation to fulfill the role of the DJ. As such, Just Dance and Journeys have taken a large chunk of my time, probably comparable to at least a part-time job. The only reason I am ‘tooting my horn’ today is because of an imminent life altering event for my wife and I… the birth of our child early this fall! As I am rearranging my life, it is clear that with fatherhood and my full-time job, my availability for JD will significantly decrease. I still feel very passionate about JD and wish to be an important part of it. Yet, with this new chapter in my life, JD is definitely entering a New Era and to keep flourishing, it needs an even broader support from its community. For this to happen, I envision a larger group of volunteers sharing the responsibilities and excitement of offering an event that entertains, transforms, connects and enlivens (see quotes below) as well as distributing its proceeds since JD has donated thousands of dollars to many nonprofit organizations in Vancouver. So on August 21, you are invited to a get-together where we will share how this vision can unfold. Maybe you volunteered in the past, will be a brand-new volunteer, are currently volunteering and wish to expand your support, etc. There will be many opportunities… for those who wish to volunteer occasionally, all the way to being part of the JD core group of volunteers. Please RSVP as the number of attendees will determine where we will hold the meeting. It will take a village to raise our child… and a village to support Just Dance! Namaste,
PS……… If you need more information about volunteering before the meeting, please visit http://www.justdance.ca/volunteers.php Just a few excerpts of the many quotes I received… “Every time I come to journeys or just dance, I am reminded of how much I love it. Every single one is just that: A dance of my journey. Thank you a million times over for the space you have created for us all.” “I just wanted to thank you for creating Just Dance. Discovering it has changed my life and is helping me through a tough time. Last Friday’s experience is so far unmatched in my life. It also actually helps me connect with other people better. Amazing.” “I have to tell you that the experience you provide is life-affirming ~~ it is one of those experiences in my life that makes me feel incredibly vibrant, joyful and alive. It is a big part of my own healing journey. So, I wanted to thank you for bringing joy into the lives of everyone that walks through those doors on Friday nights.” “I just want to thank you for your wonderful service to Vancouver good hearted community people. It is a healthy place for the same mind like people who want to have a caring and friendly place to have fun, dance and interact with the aid of awesome music.”
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Just Dance and Journeys happen three times a month on most 1st, 2nd and 4th Fridays.
Journeys: An evening of intentional dancing (details on JOURNEYS tab on the left)
Regular pricing is as follow:
A reminder that Just Dance is a non-profit event that donates its proceeds to local nonprofit organizations and charities. |
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 CURRENT NEWS... CHANGES AT JUST DANCE Just Dance is now a distributor for the Conscious Dancer. This magazine "is about moving your body for health, happiness and greater awareness and serves as the hub for movement ommunities worldwide speaking to the interests of people using movement to enhance their lives". This beautiful magazine is printed four times a year and will be available for only two dollars at the dance. Journeys is of course back after last year's exceptional series that offered many powerful, magical and transformative evenings to the community. We already have many themes and facilitators booked for several upcoming Journeys evenings. if you know of any movement/dance teachers or DJs you would like to see at Journeys, drop us a line.
PAST NEWS... SOLD OUT JUST DANCE 15 YEAR ANNIVERSARY PARTY!! WOW! Who would have known that what started as a simple desire to bring friends together on a dance floor to hop to music from around the world would have kept going for 15 years!! Like many dreams, we never know where they will take us... What we know is that we loved that so many of you joined us to celebrate Just Dance; a place for music, community, expression, gifting (JD is nonprofit) and of course... dancing! It was a fantastic night with a celebrative spirit filled with joy and warm community vibes. An what a memorable night it was! Lots of fantastic dance music with world-class Pepe Danza solo performance extravaganza along with performances with African dancer Jacky Essombe, Milan on didgeridoo and Kambiz on Poi and of course a smorgasbord of music from around the world with resident DJ Abheeru and very special guest DJ Kushad. There was a Memory Wall co-created by us all... the MOST spectacular cake (!!!!!), special guests and face painting and raffle prizes worth over $3,250, that included a weekend for two at Hollyhock Center on Cortes Island. And yes, as all proceeds are also going to local charities and nonprofit organizations, this time to The Covenant House, a downtown teenager shelter. A HUGE THANK YOU to the Just Dance volunteer team who invested months of effort and love for making that night so memorable!!!
CHANGES TO JUST DANCE New Theme Nights: With the departure of Kushad, Abheeru is has now been the only resident JD DJ. So while he spins the music for the two regular monthly dances, each night has its own style; like two flavors of the same curry. Just Dance Ethnicity, on the second Friday of the month, serves dance music with a lighter and more ethnic sound and plenty of dance energy Just Dance Fusion, on the fourth Friday of the month, again brings rhythms from around the world yet with a more modern vibe and background beats. Please keep in mind that while those 'theme nights' are offering an indication of the distinct flavors to be had, they are not mutually exclusive as the vibe of each evening also contributes to the music being played. Come check those out and do let us know what you think! New Pricing: After holding the Just Dance door price at eight dollars for the past seven years, inflation has finally caught up with us and we are adjusting the entrance fees. Please remember that Just Dance is a non-profit event. Raising the door price will allow two things. First, to be able to consistently cover our increasing costs (in the last year, shortfalls were occasionally covered by the JD organizers). Second, this will allow us to keep fulfilling one of our basic mandates: to make regular contributions to local charities and non-profit organizations. Also note that we wish not to prevent anyone with financial constraints to attend our event and remind you that one benefit of being a JD volunteer is free access to the dance. The new pricing is as follow:
JUST DANCE INVITES YOU TO CONTRIBUTE... As Just Dance is expanding and with the departure of Kushad, we are inviting you to join our team of volunteers.Any amount of time or skills are welcomed! Plus you know that you will contribute to an organization that gives to Vancouver in two important ways. First, by supporting us in providing a unique, healthy and vibrant dancing experience for people of all ages, background and orientation. Secondly, you will be part of a non-profit group that has given thousands and thousands of dollars to many local charities and non-profit organizations. By volunteering, you will get to be part of a fun and warm group of individuals that meets both at the dances and at volunteer parties several times a year. To get to know the team, to find out how you can contribute and see you we like to spoil our volunteers, send us an email or visit our volunteer page.
JUST DANCE JOURNEYS HERE! After months of dreaming, meeting and planning, we were VERY excited to have launched the very first Just Dance Journeys in the Spring of 2006! While Just Dance will keep offering Vancouver its two monthly World Beat dancing opportunities, Journeys provides a more intentional space for dance to connect with your spirit, your prayer, your Journey. The Journeys links on the left has all the details on how Abheeru and his new Journeys team have envisioned this new happening. We invite you to discover Journeys and do let us know about your Journeys experience...
A BIG IMPROVEMENT Do you remember speakers cutting out during the past dances? This is now a thing of the past. During the summer, Just Dance purchased a complete sound system for Just Dance that promises to enhance the dancing experience. The new gear is much more powerful. The goal is not to play our music any louder but to have enough headroom to prevent cutouts. We are also adding a sub-woofer that will add the much needed bass frequencies to support more rooted dancing. For those who are technically inclined, you can read all the techie details about our Yorkville Elite series powered speakers and powered subwoofer. Let us know what you think of our new sound!
JUST DANCE DONATIONS Many of you may not know that Just Dance is a non-profit event that has been donating its profits to local charities for the last 15 years. We received a letter of acknowledgement from the Food Bank that included the following: On behalf of the Greater Vancouver Food Bank Society and those we serve, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation for your generous contribution to fighting hunger in our community. It truly demonstrates the very best of a caring and compassionate community.
THE WEBSITE LAUNCH PARTY January 14 was a very special evening for Just Dance and a great way to start 2005! A large crowd boogied to Starchild Express original live music and to the two DJs tunes late into the night. The beautiful and delicious cake went quickly, 10 happy people left with prizes from our New Web Contest and lots of folks enjoyed surfing our site live on the large screen. Many thanks to our generous sponsors and all those who contributed their time and energy to make that event a great success!
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