What do women in recovery, sorority girls, grandmothers, working moms,
and domestic violence survivors, all have in common?
Solstice with World Dance for Humanity!
Our special World Dance sisterhood ascended the heights last week as part of Santa Barbara’s 2017 Summer Solstice celebration. Sixty-seven women of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities joined together in an inclusive, judgement-free experience of solidarity and joy. From the beginning of the parade to the finish, our mighty crew of joyful women marched, danced, and sang to “Break the Chain” – an exciting, powerful dance that calls for human rights and an end to violence against women.
The dance is part of “One Billion Rising,” the biggest mass action to end violence against women in human history. We dedicated our Solstice performance to the memory of NANCY KOPPELMAN, an extraordinary humanitarian and women’s rights activist who passed away in May. Nancy introduced us to One Billion and Break the Chain, and we’ve been performing it ever since. We proudly wore orange ribbons as reminder of Nancy’s bright, illuminating spirit. We danced for Nancy, for our community, for the women we serve in Rwanda, and for women all over the world who are struggling to claim their basic rights as human beings.
We are so grateful to EVERYONE who helped make this a fun, freeing, and deeply meaningful event. Special thanks to Solstice singers: Michelle Williams, Marie Corbin, and Sandra Orozco – who poured their hearts into the song and kept us all going! And to photographers: Bill Zeldis, Genevieve Feiner, Jeremy Reineck, PJ and Marica Heller, Sydney Luca-Lion, and Tim Pettit!