Dance for Kindness 2018
On Sunday, November 11th we hosted the 7th annual Dance for Kindness (DFK).
DFK is a World Wide event brought to everyone by Life Vest Inside (LVI), a non-profit organization founded in New York. DFK is in celebration of World Kindness Day. Over 55,000 participants in over 240 cities, in about 65 countries, perform a Freezemob & Flashmob to the same songs, doing the same dance, all on the same day.
It began with an East Coast Choreographer, then went to the West Coast where, Joy in Motion was honored that, Justin was chosen to be the Head Choreographer in 2016 and 2017. He also led the event in San Francisco those years. In 2018 they moved to Sweden.
Justin and Joy in Motion led the event in 2018 and with approximately 200 dancers and over 100 viewers, it was deeply moving being a part of a Global Movement as well as a Community Collaboration."Kindness truly does keep the world afloat!" What an amazing way to kickoff World Kindness Day and Week.
Flash Mob at LAC's Art of Mixology
We had a blast!
The Lamorinda Art Council's (LAC) annual Art of Mixology fundraiser happened October 13th, 2018.
Joy in Motion led the 2nd annual Flashmob at their biggest fundraiser of the year where they raised over $10K.
We were pleased to have JiM Adult Dancers, friends, family, and community members participate in this amazing event as well as have Justin Cole chair it knowing Joy in Motion is an Art Partner with the LAC!
DANCE PARTY & AUCTION
On September 15th dancers, parents and community members of ALL AGES came to our to celebrate the OPENING of Joy in Motion's NEW HOME. We held our Deploy Joy Dance Party & Silent Auction which was a smashing success. We transformed the space (once again) to create a magical party atmosphere.
Our Lobby featured a photo booth and the Lounge was open for relaxing and visiting with friends. Studio 1 became our Dining Room with amazing food & drinks. Studio 2 became our Silent Auction Room which featured 27 amazing packages as well as our Signature Cocktail...the Jim-o-nade! Last, but certainly not least, Studio 3 became our Glow in the Dark Dance Room which was enjoyed by kids and adults alike. We also had an amazing face painter in our large side hallway which used glow in the dark make-up!
The space was absolutely perfect for our approximately 170 guests and was filled with so much love and support. Seeing people enjoying themselves and enlivening our new home made us extremely happy and proud! We raised over $15,000 from the event which includes a generous donation of $5,000 that evening...WOOHOO!!! We wan't thank our friends, family and the community more for believing in us, our dream, and our organization!
RIBBON CUTTING
Wow, wow, wow!! Thank you for the warm reception on August 23rd, Moraga!!
Thank you first to the Moraga Chamber of Commerce - Executive Director Kathe Nelson for organizing a Ribbon Cutting for JiM, and also to Chamber Vice President Larry Tessler and past president Wendy Scheck for coming out to the event.
From the Town Council of Moraga - thank you Mayor Dave Trotter for your kind words and Vice Mayor Teresa Onoda for your continued support.
From the Moraga Planning Department - Thank you for supporting JiM with your presence Derek Farmer, Planning Director, and Steve Kowalski, Senior Planner..it was nice to see you without exchanging any paperwork!
Thank you Dave Schnayer Commercial Real Estate for guiding Linda and Justin through a totally new landscape from start to ribbon-cutting and for helping us believe we could do it!!
Thank you also to our local business neighbors Total Clean and Si Si Caffe for coming by and for flowers!!
Thank you to two of our Joy in Motion Board Members - Tammara Plankers and Kim Angell - for bringing yummy treats and bubbly to our celebration. And to Meredith Friedman for representing the Lamorinda Arts Council's support.
Thank you to our friends and family near and far who showed up in person and in spirit - including some JiM Adult Dancers and moms!! This was a splendid rite of passage ceremony for Joy in Motion!!!!
Arts Affair - Lamorinda Arts Council
On June 6th, 2018, Joy in Motion represented the dance world at the Lamorinda Arts Council (LAC)'s first annual Arts Affair event at the Orinda Library. Read about the event in Lamorinda Weekly HERE
Joy in Motion is an Arts Partner with the LAC and Justin Cole began serving on the board of directors for the non-profit in 2015 when the Orinda Arts Council became the Lamorinda Arts Council, in order to expand our opportunities to include Orinda's neighbors of Lafayette and Mortaga in this vibrant, local, artistic community.
Thank you to all our performers in jazz/tap, boys hip hop, teen tap and adult hip hop who represented Joy in Motion well at this inaugural event!
