Move your body, move the world!

Hector S. Bautista Aniceto Start Date: Mar 22, 2014 - End Date: Jun 19, 2014
  • Professional Development
  • Leadership/Training Program
  • Volunteer Trip
  • Veracruz

My Travel Story

by: Hector S. Bautista Aniceto Start Date: Mar 22, 2014 - End Date: Jun 19, 2014
  • Professional Development
  • Leadership/Training Program
  • Volunteer Trip
As a dancer and an artist I believe that the arts possess the power to heal, transform and inspire both individuals and societies. I also believe that children and youth are a powerful force in our societies, one that is often ignored. Similarly to the arts, they can also transform the world we live in. However, this can only be possible if they are given the adequate opportunities, education, health care and love as well as activities such as dance and the arts to grow in a healthy way. This means: knowing how to take care of their bodies, being confident and having discipline, which will bring them success in all they do and most importantly, HAPPINNESS. The arts have been proved to be successful in enriching the mind, the body and the spirit. Dance is particularly powerful in teaching interpersonal relations, how to be empathetic with others, how to take care of the body and how to find strength within oneself. All in all, it is a good recreational activity that can prevent children and youth from falling into gangs and the world of crime.

        This summer, I plan to go back to my home town, Veracruz, in the gulf coast of Mexico, to work as dance instructor for children and youth from the children's home of "Hogares por el Amor de Dios A.C.". This is an non-profit organization that provides food, education, shelter and healthcare for free to vulnerable social groups in the city of Veracruz and its surroundings. The organization was born in 1989 and has committed to improve the wellbeing of the least privileged since then. Through a 3 week dance program August 11-31, learning beginners’ level contemporary graham technique, world dances and classical dance, children and youth will explore the universe of dance and learn its benefits for the body and the mind. The learning experience will be enriched by teaching them also good breathing, eating, sleeping and posture habits as well as the importance of civic engagement. For the creative part of the program, participants will be encouraged to listen and understand their bodies by dancing to prompts that I will give them such as colors, can you dance like blue or yellow? animals, emotions, nature's elements. The combination of both technique and creative thinking will allow participants to learn to be present and connected to the world around and inside of them. In the end, by groups or individually, participants will present their pieces to staff members in an event open to the general public at the children’s home.

        This project means a lot to me because it will allow me to help my community doing what I love and know the best. It will also help me continue my preparation as a dance professor, which I plan to do in the future after I graduate from university and put into practice theories on the use of dance for psychological therapy presented in the book The Dancing Self (2002) by Dr. Carol Press. It also means bringing some joy and enriching activities to children and youth who cannot experience them because of economic or social constraints. I hope to inspire these children and youth to follow their dreams regardless what shapes or colors these are, regardless if these are in the realm of the arts or not. The message I want to transmit them is that with dedication and a healthy lifestyle one can feel fulfilled, happy and succeed in any lifepath one chooses. My goal is that this project continues in the future to serve as a preventive program for youth and children to avoid falling into gangs and crime, a social problem that is affecting severely my community and my country.
  • Veracruz

Updates

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