“To build community requires vigilant awareness of the work we must continually do to undermine all the socialization that leads us to behave in ways that perpetuate domination.”
- bell hooks, Teaching Community: A Pedagogy of Hope
COMMUNITY EDUCATION
BIG BODIED BABES DANCE CLASS (currently being offered as a 2x weekly, ongoing zoom dance class)
This is an online dance class offered twice a week for self identified big-bodied babes. This space is cultivated exclusively for big-bodied people who currently dance, used to dance, or have always wanted to dance, but who have experienced size discrimination and fat stigma in "traditional" dance settings. Using guided movement prompts and structured improvisations, this class supports people to connect to the power, joy, pleasure, and liberation that lives within the moving body in a supportive and body inclusive environment.
COMBAT ACTIVIST BURNOUT (movement based: masterclass, workshop, or series)
This is an offering for activists and community organizers for a night of self care, connection, and grounding. For centuries, dance has been used a form of resistance as well as a way to connect to deep wisdom, intuition, and ecstasy within the body. Through a progression of free movement activities, we will move from operating in the head into the body and explore how embodiment is a crucial component of making this work sustainable. Being embodied is a direct way to counteract oppression, for if oppression serves to disconnect us, then finding connection within ourselves and those around us - embodying connection - is a radical act. Give yourself the gift of getting grounded in yourself, your vision, and your activism. Reconnect to the power, intuition, and fire within your body. No dance experience required. All bodies welcome.
WHAT I WISH MY [WHITE] MOTHER KNEW: A WORKSHOP SERIES FOR WHITE PARENTS RAISING CHILDREN OF COLOR (series)
This is a 10 week series for white identified parents raising children of color. This class was created based on years the years of racial healing Aiano and her white mother went through. This series uses podcasts, videos, readings, writing prompts and group discussion to develop a deeper understanding about interpersonal race relations and power dynamics between white parents and children of color.
JOYOUS EXISTENCE (movement based: masterclass, workshop, or series)
description coming soon...
AWAKENING INTUITION: EMBODYING PLEASURE (movement based: workshop, or series)
This workshop is an exploration into the underworld of ourselves - the place of intuition, deep knowing, and full pleasure. Bridging movement activities, somatic practices, and other creative mediums participants begin to tap into the wealth of healing and transformative power that lives within us all. Join me for an awakening and see where it leads you. All bodies welcome, no dance experience necessary.
ACTIVATE YOUR ART (movement based: workshop, or series)
This workshop offers artists interested in arts and activism an opportunity to reinvigorate their creative process and activate their art. Participants will use improvisation, dance composition, writing, and drawing, as well as personal and group reflections to develop a more clear, embodied understanding of the personal, social, and political transformative power of dance. Experience dance through a feminist, decolonial, and transformative lens and come to understand the history and legacy of dance as a tool of resistance, liberation, and peace making.
YOUNG ARTISTS & ACTIVISTS (movement based: workshop, or series)
This workshop is designed for middle school and high school aged dance artists who are interested in exploring how their creativity and artistry act as a change agent in the world. This workshop generates opportunities for participants to explore the intersection of art and activism and begin to uncover how dance is capable of personal, social, and political transformation. Developmentally appropriate practices of Improvisation, dance composition, writing, and drawing are used to connect to power within. Participants will develop as thoughtful, creative, and critical art makers. Integrating what they learn in their dance studies out into the world helps create positive change through an embodied understanding of themselves and the world around them.
This is an online dance class offered twice a week for self identified big-bodied babes. This space is cultivated exclusively for big-bodied people who currently dance, used to dance, or have always wanted to dance, but who have experienced size discrimination and fat stigma in "traditional" dance settings. Using guided movement prompts and structured improvisations, this class supports people to connect to the power, joy, pleasure, and liberation that lives within the moving body in a supportive and body inclusive environment.
COMBAT ACTIVIST BURNOUT (movement based: masterclass, workshop, or series)
This is an offering for activists and community organizers for a night of self care, connection, and grounding. For centuries, dance has been used a form of resistance as well as a way to connect to deep wisdom, intuition, and ecstasy within the body. Through a progression of free movement activities, we will move from operating in the head into the body and explore how embodiment is a crucial component of making this work sustainable. Being embodied is a direct way to counteract oppression, for if oppression serves to disconnect us, then finding connection within ourselves and those around us - embodying connection - is a radical act. Give yourself the gift of getting grounded in yourself, your vision, and your activism. Reconnect to the power, intuition, and fire within your body. No dance experience required. All bodies welcome.
WHAT I WISH MY [WHITE] MOTHER KNEW: A WORKSHOP SERIES FOR WHITE PARENTS RAISING CHILDREN OF COLOR (series)
This is a 10 week series for white identified parents raising children of color. This class was created based on years the years of racial healing Aiano and her white mother went through. This series uses podcasts, videos, readings, writing prompts and group discussion to develop a deeper understanding about interpersonal race relations and power dynamics between white parents and children of color.
JOYOUS EXISTENCE (movement based: masterclass, workshop, or series)
description coming soon...
AWAKENING INTUITION: EMBODYING PLEASURE (movement based: workshop, or series)
This workshop is an exploration into the underworld of ourselves - the place of intuition, deep knowing, and full pleasure. Bridging movement activities, somatic practices, and other creative mediums participants begin to tap into the wealth of healing and transformative power that lives within us all. Join me for an awakening and see where it leads you. All bodies welcome, no dance experience necessary.
ACTIVATE YOUR ART (movement based: workshop, or series)
This workshop offers artists interested in arts and activism an opportunity to reinvigorate their creative process and activate their art. Participants will use improvisation, dance composition, writing, and drawing, as well as personal and group reflections to develop a more clear, embodied understanding of the personal, social, and political transformative power of dance. Experience dance through a feminist, decolonial, and transformative lens and come to understand the history and legacy of dance as a tool of resistance, liberation, and peace making.
YOUNG ARTISTS & ACTIVISTS (movement based: workshop, or series)
This workshop is designed for middle school and high school aged dance artists who are interested in exploring how their creativity and artistry act as a change agent in the world. This workshop generates opportunities for participants to explore the intersection of art and activism and begin to uncover how dance is capable of personal, social, and political transformation. Developmentally appropriate practices of Improvisation, dance composition, writing, and drawing are used to connect to power within. Participants will develop as thoughtful, creative, and critical art makers. Integrating what they learn in their dance studies out into the world helps create positive change through an embodied understanding of themselves and the world around them.
DANCE IN EARLY CHILDHOOD
Aiano believes that through Early Childhood dance we can cultivate experiences of kinesthetic empathy, encourage creative problem-solving, exercise critical thinking, and explore Power – all of which are all critical components to actualizing a just and equitable future. Inquire about setting up your own early childhood dance class in your community today!
FAMILY DANCE
Want to connect with your child through movement, creativity, and play? Gather your parent/child friends for an all ages dance experience rooted in parent/child bonding exercises and developmentally appropriate movement prompts.
