During our virtual dance party therapy event FOC raised a total of $2,300 for an inspiring organization selected by our dance instructor, Alé Tracy Chavarriaga, who worked with them as a Peace Corps Volunteer (2016-2018) in La Guajira:
- Mata e Pelo in Riohacha, La Guajira is a community action group that promotes Afro-Colombian identity and self-acceptance among women and youth.
Thank you to Camp GLOW participants that also joined the Rumbaterapia class!
Alexandra leads virtual dance workshops with a mix of Latin American music genres and dance styles like Dominican Merengue, Puerto Rican Salsa, Dominican Bachata, Colombian Cumbia, Afro-Latinx beats, Brazilian Samba, and more. She incorporates stretching before and after the lesson, as well as breathwork and meditation at the end of the session.
She grew up all over the place, is proud of her Colombian roots, and is now living outside of Washington DC with a career in International Development. Her father Richard Tracy also served as a Peace Corps Colombia volunteer from 1978 to 1981 in mostly Tumaco, Nariño, where he met Alé’s mother, Martha Chavarriaga.
Alé taught dance with the Latinx Culture Show at the University of Michigan (2010-2012), and while serving in the Peace Corps – Colombia on the Caribbean coast of La Guajira. She is currently a Brazilian Samba and Colombian dance performer in the DC area.
If you missed the virtual Rumbaterapia class on March 27th with Alé or simply want to watch the class again, now you can!
Order of Events:
- Information about two community-based organizations FOC raised funds for during this event – 0:00
- Description of Rumbaterapia – 25:41
- Rumbaterapia instruction – 35:05
- Stretching and breathwork meditation – 1:20:40
For everyone interested in dancing with Alé Tracy Chavarriaga again, you are in luck! Alé offers free/donation-based Rumbaterapia classes on Facebook every Tuesday at 7:00pm ET.
To learn more about her Tuesday classes, check out her Facebook group page and Instagram page @dancing.healer.