Luna Dance & Creativity is opening the end of May in our own space! After moving nine times in 32 years and temporarily closing our studio four years ago, we can hardly wait to open our doors as an ADA-accessible dance place for children and families; and for the artists and teachers that support and nurture the education, health, and well-being of our community. Our mission since inception has been to bring creativity, equity, and community to every child through the art of dance. In collaboration with Studio KDA, Woolman Architecture, and Oliver & Company–and thanks to the many supporters like you–we have designed a beautiful and inviting dance PLACE where ALL children can belong. Children have always been at the center of our work, and Luna’s home is created as a homage to children.

Children embody our future. They are the future innovators, creators, and stewards of humanity, yet every day we read about how the systems of care in our country negatively impact children. When I joined Luna as a teaching artist over three decades ago it was because of my commitment to social justice entwined with dance education on behalf of children. During the past seven years, as I managed the capital campaign and building search process, I did not doubt we could eventually achieve our vision of an artistic home for children: A safe and comfortable space where they can create, play, and express themselves through the art of dance. A space to experience the liberation and freedom of creating through the moving body. A space to express and be witnessed as their complete authentic selves.

Luna has a series of events planned to welcome children, families, and their teachers back to our studio. I can hardly wait until June 1st (stay tuned for details) when we welcome back children and families with a free family dance class for everyone in our community. For the past 2,555 days since we began this project in 2017, I have held in my mind’s eye–leaping, twirling, smiling children joyfully dancing in a light-filled space. We’re finally here!

– Nancy Ng, Co-Executive Director

Of my twenty years as a dance teaching artist, I can confidently say that I have learned the most in the last five years. One of my most significant times of professional learning was during the Covid-19 pandemic when I learned to adjust to teaching in a virtual space, and later a socially distanced space. As my teaching practices grew more creative because of the challenges of sharing a physically safe space, I also learned more and more about nurturing emotionally and creatively safe spaces for dancers. 

Knowing that I get bored quickly, I took full advantage of our homebound time and schedule change to expand my relationship with Luna. I had previously done professional development and training with Luna through their partnership with San Francisco Ballet’s Dance In Schools and Communities program, of which I was a teaching artist. With the pandemic gifting me extra time and stripping away my commute, I jumped into many of the programs that Luna had to offer. I participated in the 2020-2021 Summer Institute, Practitioner Exchanges, the Teacher as Creative Practitioner Scholar course, and more. I didn’t realize it then, but the skills I was sharpening as a teaching artist through these experiences would connect to situations beyond my dance spaces. 

I recently felt a calling and returned to school to become a school counselor. I learned some basic counseling techniques in my counseling classes that felt familiar as a creative dance teacher. The counseling technique of paraphrasing, or reflecting back what the “client” has shared to let them know that they are heard and understood, reminded me of a similar practice as a dance teacher. I want the dancers to know that I see the movements they are sharing and for them to recognize for themselves what they are doing, so I say things like, “I see big, circular movement” or “Anna is doing small, curling movements with her hands.” The counseling practice of asking open-ended questions is much like the dance teacher’s task of giving creative dance students open-ended movement prompts. The counselor and the dance teacher both aim to create a safe space, whether it is a space for emotional vulnerability or creative expression. Counselors are taught to be okay with being silent and just listening. As a teaching artist, sometimes the magic really happens when I don’t try to direct anything and just let ideas evolve. Of course, none of this happens unless you spend time building rapport, be it in the dance space, or counseling office. 

Making these connections between my new adventure in school counseling and my comfortable, familiar world of creative dance made me even more grateful for Luna. Counseling and teaching creative dance aren’t so different. My years of learning and honing my craft as a teaching artist have prepared me for more than I realized. Cultivating a safe space to facilitate my growth is a gift that Luna gave me. And I’m here to pass it on. 

– Genoa Sperske

Heather Stockton, a Luna Teaching Artist who is moving on to a full time dance teaching position shares a sweet video of her students reflections on dance this past school year. She is honored to witness students across Luna’s programs find freedom and joy in movement and expression. This video shows the importance and impact dance can have on every child’s life.

VIDEO TEXT

Working at Luna has opened my eyes to the blooming possibility of dance education and the impact it can have on all of our lives. Growing up in a low-income household my family didn’t have the means to put me into programs and activities that weren’t free or through school. Although I got to explore many different activities and learn various skills, I desperately wanted to be enrolled in dance classes. My mother put me in community theater and choreography sessions were what I looked forward to the most. It wasn’t until high school that I was able to take my first dance class via a performing arts charter school. Since then dance has been a critical part of finding autonomy and confidence within myself and my body. I went from being shy and insecure to finding bravery, unwavering determination, and self-confidence. Through dance, I have found the ability to be present and let my mind go with ease. Since joining the Luna team, I can affirm the importance and impact dance education can have on a child’s life. I am grateful for Luna’s continued work and mission of bringing creativity, equity and community to every child’s life through the art of dance. And I truly believe dance is a necessary skill of life we should all be able to tap into at any age, but especially during our developmentally formative years.

– Saharla Vetsch

Dear friends,

One story from my family’s folklore goes like this: As a toddler, before I can remember, which is why I call it “folklore,” I used to stage my own hula pageants in my mom and dadʻs grocery store on Maui. My three older sisters, who were my babysitters, had taught me all of the hula dances that they were learning. So, I was just sharing. I was fortunate to grow up in an environment where dance was a natural part of our family and community. Each weekend seemed to have a wedding, birthday or holiday party, full of dance. My aunts and uncles were the first to get up and jitterbug. They had learned it from the soldiers based on the island during WWII. Often, my Aunty Shirley, who was from Samoa, would perform with her twirling knives in her feather-adorned headdress and skirt. 

Later, my sisters would disco to a deejay, and later still, my nieces and nephews would start the latest line dance. Folk dances were always featured entertainment. My sisters would be called (expected) to perform a hula or a Spanish folk dance. Even our church’s youth choir became a Philippine folk dance troupe, which is how I came to learn of the vast richness of my cultural heritage. Though I didn’t have a dance education as it is practiced today—I had neither a designated dance teacher nor a dance class—everyone in my elementary school had to learn and perform a dance for our annual May Day Lei Day celebration. Lucky me, my life was surrounded by dance!

Today, as a member of Luna, I am happily still surrounded by dance during a moment when Luna is experiencing a profound evolution that will expand our ecosystem and community of dance to engage all bodies, regardless of age and ability. At the heart of this change is our relocation to a new, permanent space at 931 Ashby, where we aim to embody a creative spirit of dance education, one that is joyfully experimental, reflective, deep and transformational. Our new home will allow us to investigate and promote a most holistic notion of dance, one that inspires all bodies to join the thrilling possibilities of the art form. From this body-based hub of education, research and creativity, we aspire to find multiple pathways to address global challenges.  

We envision our new home at 931 Ashby Avenue as a community dance center, where all bodies are welcome and where any family can make dance a part of their life. The building will be a dance space like no other, where dancers of all ages and abilities can move freely, explore their imaginations, take command of their decision making and creativity. The new Luna studios will be more than just a building, it will be a fulsome, dynamic community of embodied learners, makers and agents of their/our own transformation.

Beyond the elevator, roof, sprung floor and the other brick-and-mortar elements of the renovation, Luna truthfully and most importantly will be about the deepening and expanding relationships of families, friends, peers, collaborators and stakeholders…people. Dancing folks, like you! We can barely wait to see you there.

– John-Mario Sevilla