Activities – Dance and Movement

Adult Tai Ji Quan

Instructor: Andy Barkworth

Tai Ji Quan (approximately pronounced ty-jee-chwan; archaically spelled t’ai chi ch’uan) – “The Supreme Ultimate” – is an ancient martial and healing art. It is a discipline of the Spirit, Mind, and Body that originated in China hundreds of years ago. Founded on three basic principles of breath control, mind focus, and body movement, Tai Ji enhances the practioner's well being through slow, graceful movements. Although Tai Ji is a powerful martial art practiced for self-defense, it is equally beneficial for the health of the body, clarity and peace of mind, and the development and movement of vital life-force energy (Qi). It is through the flowing, natural movements of Tai Ji that we may maximize health, reduce stress, and harmonize our spirit, mind, and body.

Beginning Tai Ji introduces new students to basic movements and principles of practice suitable for students of all ages and physical conditions. Tai Ji concentrates on relieving the physical effects of stress on the body and mind. The focus and calmness cultivated by the meditative aspect of Tai Ji aides in relieving stress and maintaining optimum health. Classes are introductory six week sessions.

Youth Capoeira

Instructors: provided by partner Axé Capoeira Arizona

Capoeira (kah-poo-ay-rah) is an Afro-Brazilian martial art which originated in the quilombos, settlements of African slaves escaped from the brutal conditions of the colonial Brazil’s sugar plantations. Emancipation came for Brazil’s slaves in 1888, and two years later the practice of capoeira was banned as a threat to public order. It survived underground and in the countryside, though, and in time official repression subsided and the martial art came to be more performance than fighting style.

Modern capoeira dates to 1932, when Mestre Bimba opened the first academy of capoeira in Salvador da Bahia, leading to full legalization of the art in 1940. Today’s capoeira combines self-defense, acrobatics, music, and dance in a unique fusion of art and exercise. Its practice occurs in the traditional roda (wheel) to the accompaniment of Afro-Brazilian songs and percussion instruments.

Axé (ah-sheh) capoeira is the style of capoeira taught by Grupo Axé Capoeira, a contemporary capoeira group founded in 1982 by Mestre Barrão in the Brazilian city of Recife.

Youth Hip-hop Dance

Instructors: provided by partner EPIK Dance Company

Dance has been an integral part of hip-hop culture since its beginnings in the 1970s in the African-American and Latin communities of northeastern American cities. A variety of diverse street dance styles – breaking, locking, and popping, among others – collectively form the genre known as hip-hop dance, which is now practiced across the United States and internationally from Seoul to Paris.

As a steet dance form, hip-hop dance can be enjoyed by those without formal technical training, and it provides youth an opportunity for both creative expression and fun physical activity.

Youth Stepping

Stepping is a dance form which originated in African-American college fraternities and sororities in the early and mid 1900s. It is an eclectic form, combining elements of military drill, traditional African foot dances, and various popular dance styles of the last century; it emphasizes the use of the hands and feet as percussion instruments to accompany the synchronized movements of the dance team.

Participation in stepping provides youth with a high-energy activity that builds creativity as well as confidence and a sense of community.