Below is information about Cuicacalli’s upcoming performance at Stanford this Saturday. The art forms being presented are Latin Dance, Ballet Folklorico, Contemporary, Mariachi - and the delicious, ooey-gooey blending of the aforementioned (:-)

Where: Stanford University - Dinkelspiel Auditorium: 471 Lagunita Drive, Stanford, California 94305
When: Saturday, May 25 @ 7:00pm
Tickets: $5 & Available At Door
Link to Event
Facebook Event Page

On Friday, a teacher appreciation luncheon was held at Cesar Chavez for all teachers and staff. Everything served was absolutely delicious and made with lots of LOVE by the PTO, parents, family, and friends of Cesar Chavez students. And you can taste that. It sounds corny, I know. But you can. You can taste when food is made with love. And you can feel when people transition from congregating around a table to becoming a family, that shares nourishment, and listens, and cares. And that is what I’ve always felt at Cesar Chavez. Even when we unpack and heat our lunches from home, the teacher’s lounge in this school is a special place. When we sit, we become like a big family - sharing food and space and stories and laughter and love.

The advice you commonly get in grad school (directly and indirectly) is some variation of “avoid the teacher’s lounge at all costs - it’s a negative place where teachers complain about students.” That couldn’t be farther from the case. Especially at Chavez.

Bottom line / already realized realization / reminder: I’m fortunate to be part of this community.

On a side-note, or rather “front-note,” what you see in the forefront of this photograph is HORCHATA! A huge bucket of it! In my opinion, it’s  one of the most delicious drinks on the planet. I could drink cup after cup of this milky, almond-ey, rice-ey, cinnamon-ey, vanilla-ey goodness day-after-day, if unrestrained.

Luna Dance Institute is an incredible organization whose path I was lucky enough to cross in 2011. Luna is (and I’m paraphrasing from their website here…) a nationally-acclaimed dance education organization based in Berkeley, dedicated to bringing the joy of dance to all children in both school and community settings. With integrity, creativity, and standards-based education at it’s core, Luna leads many professional learning programs that help teachers improve their practice and advance the field of dance education.

I was lucky enough to benefit from such a program in the summer of 2011, and the following year(s), as my coach provided tremendous support in a variety of capacities. It was only after getting involved with Luna (and the community of artists it enfolds) that I realized “I’m not alone! :)” (itinerant teaching can feel lonely at times as you’re usually the only one at your site doing what you do…).

I was able to go through their program for FREE! For absolutely FREE! So when the opportunity arises, I feel compelled to support and reciprocate in any way I can.

Luna is in-process of meeting it’s target goal of raising $90,000 by the end of this fiscal year - that’s 20% of it’s operating budget which will enable them to continue to offer the “full palette” of their professional learning activities (like the program I was lucky enough to attend) and continue bringing dance to 20,000 each year (20,000!!).

If you’d like to contribute to these efforts, you can give directly to Luna via their website or you can donate through their Raise For Women Challenge.

Below is a video of Luna’s work: