Dear Friends,
5pm: The Party Bus
We had such an incredible night last Saturday starting with a party bus of about 40 "The Power With Grace" dancers going from the Larkspur Ferry Parking Lot in Marin to the Fox Theatre in Oakland! Thank you to Karin Conn for organizing our transportation and planning all the special events of the evening! She even brought coolers into the bus with drinks for everyone and snacks to munch on after the concert!
6pm: The Rainbow Brights
When we arrived at Fox Theatre, there was already a long line wrapping around the building. We got dropped off conveniently right in the front of the theatre and unintentionally made quite an entrance as we all got off the bus wearing matching rainbow apparel including tanks, hats, hoodies, and even stickers!
7pm: The Pre-Party
When we entered Fox Theatre, our group made our way to the very front of the general admission standing area right in front of the stage! There were two opening acts: Bombargo and Citizen Cope, as well as a DJ playing music between acts.
Let the 6-hour dancing begin (really)!
8pm: The Meet and Greet
Absolutely the main highlight of the night was right before Michael Franti was about to go on stage. Initially only half of our group was brought to a secret back alleyway behind the theatre, but later some of the other dancers were able to make their way out too (sadly not all of our dancers made it outside in time - wahhh!).
Michael was so kind to come meet all of us. He even took the extra time to sing “The Sound of Sunshine” on his guitar privately for us while we danced our routine next to him! We also got to personally meet his wife Sara and speak to both of them for a while about our retreat next year in Soulshine Bali!
Thank you to everyone who pitched in so that we could gift Michael and Sara an XL rainbow hoodie, two rainbow tanks and our rainbow hat!
What an extraordinary experience!
9pm: The Togetherness Experience
Michael Franti's Tour was named "Togetherness" and it certainly felt that way! He did things that we love to do in our classes such as hooking arms with strangers, holding hands in large circles, or meeting someone new next to you.
10pm: The Marsha Moment
Although we were disappointed that we didn't get invited as a group to dance on stage like we hoped... the next best thing happened...
Marsha Celler got to go up on stage!!!
Michael Franti loves to bring people on stage, including his own sons and wife, and for one song he invited all the kids in the concert to join him, and then for another song, he invited all the 70+ concert attendees!!! Marsha was for sure the most excited one up on stage and she represented our group well by being the best dancer!!!
11pm: The Set List
The show continued until almost midnight because it was Michael Franti's hometown of Oakland, and he totally changed his normal set list that night!
We got to hear a few acapella song versions as well as a new, unreleased song called, "Sunny Lemonade," that we were thrilled to sing along to because we could turn around and point at Sunny St. Germain every time the chorus came around!
At the end of the night, of course our lovely Karin scored a copy of the set list!
12am: The Takeaway
We left Fox Theatre around midnight and we were grateful to have the party bus drive us home (as well as eat some snacks and hydrate!). It was a quick drive back to Marin and then we all said good night!
Just like we always say: our community is so much more than dancing, we felt that Michael and Sara are completely aligned with that same idea:
Their community is so much more than music.
It was so refreshing to be surrounded in an environment where people are celebrated for their differences, where positivity and kindness is what’s most important, and where love is palpable and hope is the answer. This is exactly what we believe and what we wish for everybody in the world!!!
My feet were sore on Sunday and my shoulders were tired from jumping for hours and throwing my arms in the air song after song. My face was also recovering from smiling non-stop all night and my throat had to rest from singing and screaming!
But more importantly, the takeaway of Michael Franti's concert for me was:
My heart feels lighter and my faith feels stronger.
Keep spreading light, love and kindness.
Keep believing in good.
Keep looking up.
There is so much Big Big Love out there!
"There isn't anybody in the world you wouldn't love if you knew their story."
- Michael Franti
There is literally no one else I would rather have gone to this concert with than all of YOU.
Hope to see you this week for our regularly scheduled classes!
Life is better with YOU!!!
Love,
Grace
PS A special shoutout goes to one of our first original dancers from almost 10 years ago, Danuta Heilemann, who moved to Los Angeles but drove up north this past weekend specifically to come to the concert with us! Her husband, Michael, joined us too and we were so happy to see them both!
PPS Pictured above is also my sister, Ann Ing, who many of you know from our Tulum retreat and drove up from the South Bay to join the concert as well!
PPPS Also pictured above is my 20+ years friend, Josh Chuck, who is a true original Michael Franti fanatic and I bumped into him in the lobby! Fun fact: he came to support me during my first 40 song danceathon in the city in 2019, so he's technically a Stop Drop and Dance pro!
