Dear Friends,
Help a family in need!
A note from our host for Saturday's donation class,
Laura Williams:
This is a fundraiser to help the family in our community of Dotto Ngongoseke, who died in October tragically in a car accident, leaving his 3 sons, now 11, 14, and 16 and his partner Ina without their beloved father and the main wage earner for the family
Dotto was truly one of the best people I have ever known, he grew up on the shores of Lake Victoria in Tanzania and worked for many years as a CNA at SF General where he was a beloved care provider and coworker. He was the most wonderful father I ever saw with his three boys, so warm and positive and even working full time plus driving uber, gave his all with a beautiful energy and attitude to his family. He was a loving and committed partner to his wife.
The money raised will be used for general support for the family and to help them create the rental project in their yard so that they can start receiving rental income to help them live.
Please come dance with joy, as Dotto was Always full of joy and made me and everybody else smile every time. It will be a fun celebration and channeling his beautiful spirit to raise funds through dance!
THEME: Please wear one or all Tanzania flag colors: blue, green, black and/or yellow.
All donors can join us in-person or on Zoom, and will receive an on-demand recording of class for the week after. Even if you are not interested in dancing, your donation is greatly appreciated!
Believe Music Heals
A personal message from our birthday host, Karin Conn:
I am excited to make my "Colorful Hearts and Butterfly Theme" birthday celebration a fundraiser for Believe Music Heals, again this year. This nonprofit means so much to me for many reasons and I am honored to be a board member. Essence Goldman, who founded Believe Music Heals is a close friend and an amazing singer songwriter who I've worked with and represented since the mid 90's when I discovered her singing in the poster room at the Fillmore before a George Clinton show. I am truly her biggest fan.
There are numerous reasons why Essence launched Believe Music Heals. Because of her own experiences, she knows music is a powerful, healing force for herself and for many others who she has helped through the years as a voice teacher. She has witnessed the positive impact of music on some of her students who were experiencing hardships. Individuals with ALS, cancer, Alzheimer's, dementia, autism, PTSD, depression, anxiety and students began seeking her out to help them express themselves musically as part of their healing. She could see that music became an anchor point in their lives and she felt compelled to get involved. She saw firsthand that music was allowing these people to transform fear and pain into creativity and the quality of their lives improved dramatically. The music they created became a legacy that will live on, for generations to come.
Believe Music Heals is free for the students and is 100% funded by the community and people like you. Your donation in honor of my birthday would mean the world to our team, and mostly to all the people whose lives it will help at a time when they need it most.
THEME: Please wear colorful hearts and butterflies.
All donors can join us in-person or on Zoom, and will receive an on-demand recording of class for the week after. Even if you are not interested in dancing, your donation is greatly appreciated!
Summer Schedule Ahead
We have two more weeks of classes in June before a two week break.
Save the dates for these special birthday classes!
Happy Birthday Sara Rainbolt
Thursday, June 20th 9:30am-10:45am
@UU Marin (240 Channing Way, San Rafael)
THEME: Aloha Summer (wear hawaiian-themed clothing!)
Happy Birthday Erin Meyers
Thursday, June 27th 9:30am-10:45am
@UU Marin (240 Channing Way, San Rafael)
THEME: Beach Boardwalk (wear beach attire!)
Live Classes Cancelled June 29th - July 13th
I will be traveling to China with my parents and my sister's family!
Classes will resume Tuesday, July 16th.
All our classes from June 11th to June 27th will be recorded and available on-demand!
On our membership plan, you can take unlimited classes anytime that is convenient for you, even if I am not here or if you are traveling away this summer and need a workout on the go! If you are not a member, you can purchase on-demand classes a-la-carte on our website.
Happy Birthdays Kristen Sperling and Laika Chow!
Last Tuesday we had a 75 minute Stop Drop and Dance class with Kristen and Laika picking their favorite songs for us to dance to!
They picked the theme, Spice Girls, which was super fun and easy to put together! Kristen came as Sporty Spice and Laika came as Scary Spice with her leopard print! The rest of us showed up as Posh Spice, Baby Spice or Ginger Spice!
At the end of class, Laika brought Banh Mi Vietnamese sandwiches for everyone to enjoy! Delicious post-workout lunch with a great group of women! Happiest birthday Kristen and Laika!
We finished our class with everyone strutting down the runway in their Spice Girl outfits! Click on the image below to watch us WANNABE the Spice Girls!
My childhood dream came true (sort of)!
Last weekend, we did not have class because my family took a short weekend getaway trip to LA for my husband's birthday. Since he travels a lot for work, we always have hotel points that need to be used, so he booked us a free two nights in Beverly Hills.
It was our first time in Beverly Hills, so on Saturday we walked from the hotel along Rodeo Drive, took tourist photos at different landmarks, and continued on to have lunch at the classic Beverly Hills Hotel that I remember so clearly from the 80's movie, Troop Beverly Hills (it's still sooo pink!).
In a span of a few hours that day, we encountered several "celebrity" sightings, which was of course, so exciting for us since we never see celebrities!
1) On our walk, we passed by multi-million dollar neighborhoods, and on one section, there were dozens of police officers on motorcycles waiting outside the house. Turns out, it was former President Trump inside!
2) Later when we returned to the hotel, we walked through the lobby and there was some commotion with police outside and a guy that was shirtless and intoxicated. Later we found out we witnessed the champion boxer Ryan Garcia getting arrested for vandalizing his hotel room!
3) We decided to spend the late afternoon swimming in the rooftop hotel pool, so we went to change. As the girls and I waited on our hotel floor elevator, the door opened and they told us not to get inside... because moments later, we saw a herd of security guards quickly escort JANET JACKSON inside.
I'm bad with recognizing celebrities, but I KNOW Janet.
My childhood dream was to be Janet Jackson's backup dancer on tour so besides going to her concert at Shoreline Amphitheater last year with many of you and dancing there... this was the closest I'll ever get to my childhood dream coming true! We were literally alone with her only a few feet away!!!
Unfortunately, it was too fast and I couldn't even say anything except stand with my mouth open! So when the elevator door closed, I turned to my girls and said, "THAT WAS JANET JACKSON!!!"
And my older daughter was like, "No, I think that was like Halle Berry's sister from Little Mermaid."
*silence*
Let me just say that I needed YOU GUYS there standing next to me at that moment, so we could all turn to each other and scream and jump and say "OMG WE JUST SAW JANET!!!" and start dancing to one of her songs in our playlist immediately.
Have a wonderful weekend!
Grace
