Thank you for taking the time to visit my page, potential donor. Deep gratitude to you. Dance has been a major source of healing and growth for me over the last six years. Initially most of my dance was in Hobart, where I danced with Open Floor International teacher Henry Fowkes and with Dance Klub Hobart, a community group for freeform dancers. I moved back to Port Fairy following the death of my father and in 2024 I founded Dance Klub Port Fairy. It was a very interesting and challenging time to bring a group together, but we danced outside and online as necessary. We created and maintained a beautiful cohesion despite mixed feelings about lockdowns and Covid, and in many ways, it made us stronger and more connected as a group. Three years later Dance Klub is still going strong. We have held all kinds of interesting events, including an Eros-inspired dance, we have had live music and hosted guest dance teachers, have celebrated full moons and solstices and danced in a climate change rally. Many members of the group have deep friendships outside of dance and refer to each other as sisters and to the group as their dance family. With a background in mental health and community services, I have skills in working with people but supporting people through dance is different. Over my time supporting Dance Klub, I have developed my capacity to hold space and expanded my leadership skills. This has naturally developed into a desire to become a dance teacher. I jumped at the opportunity to join Open Floor International when I knew they were offering teacher training. Their mission is to teach dance and mindful movement for personal healing, professional growth and community building. They support resilience, compassion, and joyous connection with others. This very much aligns with my values and what I hope to offer as a teacher. For the first time, Open Floor has offered teacher training using a hybrid model, where students can attend in person or online. This has been necessary due to the increasing complexity of the world. This has made the two-year course accessible to me and I have completed the first three phases; Common Ground, Common Sense and Common Knowledge online. The last phase is called Common Good and is all about the Embodied Soul. It is being offered as a retreat as it is the last time participants of the course will be together and will be held in Port Townsend, Washington State over ten days. It is highly recommended that at least one phase of the training is completed in person, and I hope you can help me get there. While I am in Washington State, I also hope to attend a short course in Embodied Sexuality. It is being offered directly after the teacher training and is a prerequisite to qualifying. I am sure these opportunities will enrich me as a person, and transform me as a teacher. I hadn’t anticipated my financial situation when I began my teacher training. While I knew I would be out of the workforce for some time when I moved back to Port Fairy, I didn’t expect it to be this long. This has been a consequence of caring responsibilities and burnout after thirty years of working in the community services sector. I care for my 16-year-old autistic daughter who has been home-schooled since 2024. She sees me as her main support worker and I am highly involved with all areas of her life. I not only source her supports but am actively involved in helping her feel comfortable to engage. I am also the primary carer for my mother. At the moment I am heavily involved in setting up her Home Care Package. It feels like we are slowly finding ways to thrive individually and together. For me, this has involved retraining and finding things that give me energy and the flexibility to fit around my caring responsibilities. The Open Floor International Teacher Training isn’t subsidised, and so far I have managed to fund it using my savings. I need your help with this last phase, which involves travel and accommodation and the challenge of the exchange rate. To use embodiment terms, getting to America for this last leg of my training feels like a real stretch. It is my sincere hope you can help me continue to grow and serve my community by doing what I love. Please support my endeavours by donating. Even a small donation will help. What I will bring back to the community: • Monthly facilitated sessions in three locations across the region • Longer workshops • Courses where I combine my skills and knowledge as a guided autobiography facilitator, end-of-life doula and dance teacher • Offerings to particular target groups: The neurodiverse community, including children, young people more generally, generally those with a life-limiting illness, bereaved family members, and women who have experienced significant trauma. We do not become healers. We came as healers. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are. We do not become storytellers. We came as carriers of the stories we and our ancestors actually lived. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are. We do not become artists. We came as artists. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are. We do not become writers.. dancers.. musicians.. helpers.. peacemakers. We came as such. We are. Some of us are still catching up to what we are. We do not learn to love in this sense. We came as Love. We are Love. Some of us are still catching up to who we truly are. ~ Dr. Clarissa Pinkola Estes
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