06/05/2020
As a community of entertainers, we’ve always been able to harness the healing power of music and dance to inspire others to live in the moment, be present, and celebrate life. When the pandemic first started shutting everything down in Mid-March, my time was mostly spent helping our clients navigate the tricky waters of rescheduling events to a post-covid era. At the time, social distancing meant the loss of work for our entire team for the foreseeable future. One month later I lost my Dad to Cancer, and though the work stoppage isn’t something I wish on anyone, the fact that I was able to be with my Dad and family at a time when they needed me (and I needed them) the most, is time I’ll always treasure. The ability to be PRESENT in any given situation is a GIFT. During the 30 days that followed, I was in-mourning, and off-line.
Now without losing focus of the bigger picture…and the historical context of what’s happening, our ethnically diverse company is one big family as well… one that’s been together for 25 years. In light of the recent events that triggered the senseless kilings of African Americans across the country, I’d like to pledge my solidarity with all the MC’s, DJ’s, and Dancers both within our company, and industry alike. I want to support them, while also helping to foster the next generation of future entertainers that live right here in Chicago. One of our entertainers is Kris Bellvie, who’s also the Lead Hip Hop Instructor for , located at 7621 South Clyde Ave, in Chicago. RTPA’s mission is to provide youth programs in a healthy environment, while promoting arts in the community. We made a donation to RPTA yesterday to help enhance their online summer enrichment classes. Classes will be 100% free to the youth participants, and are set to begin on Monday, June 29th, and will run through Monday, August 10th. The offerings include Hip Hop Dance, Majorette Dance, Music (Vocal Training), Creative Writing (through Poetry and Song Writing), Makeup Artistry, and Entrepreneurship (The Basics of starting your own business). 100% of the donations will go towards compensating the Teaching Artist Professionals, who’ve also lost their main source of income due to this Pandemic. We realize that this is a difficult time for fundraising, but any contribution to Black-Led organizations, or ones supporting the peaceful protests happening in every state around the country will help reform the systematic racism that’s still occurring. It’s our turn as a community to step up, and to quote the late great “I believe the children are our are future,Teach them well and let them lead the way”. So everyone please stay healthy, be strong, embrace hope, and have faith that together we can all make a difference!
