ATLANTA SEEDs
(Self-Esteem, Empowerment & Education through Dance)
www.ATLANTASEEDSMENTORINGFORGIRLS.COM
(770) 235-8202 - info@atlantaseeds.com
Liezel Lane - 775 Aran Dr., Roswell, GA 30076
The Mission
To mentor young
women in order to create healthy and strong individuals who are socially and
fiscally responsible to themselves and their community. This is accomplished
through the vehicle of dance, specifically American Tribal Style dance, talking
circles, journal writing and presentations.
The Goals
For each girl:
·
To find her own voice and be able to listen to it.
·
To have better self-esteem and confidence.
·
To be able to plan and achieve goals, generate choices, create options, resources
and support.
·
To be ready to face financial independence.
·
To have respect, appreciation and be able to care for her own body.
·
To respect, appreciate and be able to care for others in the community.
·
To respect and appreciate diversity and culture.
The Program
We accept 15
girls per class for one academic year of after school classes, 1 ½ hours each,
2 times per week. They are taught the elements of American Tribal Style dance,
a rich diverse, artistic cultural dance form that spans the regions of India,
the Middle East, North Africa and Spain and its expression through the varied
and complex music of these same cultures. The girls also participate in talking
circles and journal writing during which they discuss issues affecting them.
Each girl identifies a personal goal that she would like to achieve during the
course of the program. Guest speakers cover a wide range of topics from
nutrition and body awareness to financial education, etc. Many successful women
of various fields that are of particular interest to the girls address the
girls each week. There are two Student Salons (student performances) each
session. Entrance into the program does not depend on demonstrated talent,
standard beauty, or ability to pay the fees the program would require.
WHAT MAKES THIS POWERFUL:
PRESS
Planting SEEDs: (Home)
Dance program aims to prepare young women for the future
by Kelly S. Hopkins
Vision Magazine
May 7, 2010
For the Sundarii SEEDs girls, studying American tribal-style dance is only part of the lesson.For the past nine months, two Roswell teens have learned Self-esteem, Empowerment and Education through Dance, thanks to the careful instruction of Stacey Ennis.
Deborah Brumlow, 16, and Evalyn Thaler, 15, have the distinction of being Roswell's first two SEEDs girls, and will be demonstrating their newly honed dancing skills during a final graduation performance at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 15 at Pueblo Auditorium.
However, the other skills Brumlow and Thaler picked up in the SEEDs program will manifest themselves in a much different way.
"The emphasis is on not only teaching them the art of American tribal-style dance...it's about encouraging these young ladies to start making informed choices, informed decisions and to start preparing them for their independence," Ennis said.
The after-school program - for young ladies 14 to 18 years old - was started by Myra Krien in Santa Fe in 2001. In order to bring the program to southeast New Mexico, Ennis - a tribal-style belly dancer - became a certified SEEDs instructor last year. The program's main goal is teaching young girls independence.
"I felt that Roswell really needed a program like that here," Ennis said. "It's really for the young ladies who have no other activities or interests outside of school. That's who this program appeals to the most."
Three days a week, for one and a half to two hours per session, SEEDs girls also receive instruction in women's health, social issues and fiscal responsibility. And because American tribal-style dance is unchoreographed, Ennis said it also compels participants to rely on each other, with cues given by the leader during performances.
"You have to learn how to trust the other person," Ennis explained. "It's a totally different way of interacting with other women. There's no competition. The possibilities are limitless with the dance itself."
Ennis is hoping the SEEDs program will gain momentum as word spreads about its many benefits. Her goal is to teach 10 to 15 girls per school year. The next class will start about two weeks after the upcoming school year begins. Tuition is required for the course.
Money raised during the May 15 performance - titled "Origins: Evolution" - will be set aside for next year's program. The recital will also feature dancing by Mosaic Dance Company, DiDi Ethnic Dance, Anala, Georgine and the Silver Dunes Troupe, Marisa of Farashi, Kuumba, Maria Alicia and Las Rosas, and Hannah.
For more information about SEEDs, call Ennis at 420-7330, email sundariidance@yahoo.com, or go online to www.sundariidance.com.
Dance program aims to prepare young women for the future
by Kelly S. Hopkins
Vision Magazine
May 7, 2010
For the Sundarii SEEDs girls, studying American tribal-style dance is only part of the lesson.For the past nine months, two Roswell teens have learned Self-esteem, Empowerment and Education through Dance, thanks to the careful instruction of Stacey Ennis.
Deborah Brumlow, 16, and Evalyn Thaler, 15, have the distinction of being Roswell's first two SEEDs girls, and will be demonstrating their newly honed dancing skills during a final graduation performance at 7 p.m., Saturday, May 15 at Pueblo Auditorium.
However, the other skills Brumlow and Thaler picked up in the SEEDs program will manifest themselves in a much different way.
"The emphasis is on not only teaching them the art of American tribal-style dance...it's about encouraging these young ladies to start making informed choices, informed decisions and to start preparing them for their independence," Ennis said.
The after-school program - for young ladies 14 to 18 years old - was started by Myra Krien in Santa Fe in 2001. In order to bring the program to southeast New Mexico, Ennis - a tribal-style belly dancer - became a certified SEEDs instructor last year. The program's main goal is teaching young girls independence.
"I felt that Roswell really needed a program like that here," Ennis said. "It's really for the young ladies who have no other activities or interests outside of school. That's who this program appeals to the most."
Three days a week, for one and a half to two hours per session, SEEDs girls also receive instruction in women's health, social issues and fiscal responsibility. And because American tribal-style dance is unchoreographed, Ennis said it also compels participants to rely on each other, with cues given by the leader during performances.
"You have to learn how to trust the other person," Ennis explained. "It's a totally different way of interacting with other women. There's no competition. The possibilities are limitless with the dance itself."
Ennis is hoping the SEEDs program will gain momentum as word spreads about its many benefits. Her goal is to teach 10 to 15 girls per school year. The next class will start about two weeks after the upcoming school year begins. Tuition is required for the course.
Money raised during the May 15 performance - titled "Origins: Evolution" - will be set aside for next year's program. The recital will also feature dancing by Mosaic Dance Company, DiDi Ethnic Dance, Anala, Georgine and the Silver Dunes Troupe, Marisa of Farashi, Kuumba, Maria Alicia and Las Rosas, and Hannah.
For more information about SEEDs, call Ennis at 420-7330, email sundariidance@yahoo.com, or go online to www.sundariidance.com.
Myra and her SEEDs Program
by Lindsay AhlShimmy2009
Myra Krien has a quality when she teaches and when she performs that is magnetic, as though possessed by some powerful but benevolent spirit. She is someone who can command a classroom or a stage by her mere presence, before she speaks, before she dances. But it is filled with joy and beauty, this presence. This is not ego, on her part, not selfishness - making everyone else look like ordinary mortals - this is just her BEING when she is teaching or performing. You read sometimes of famous people like this: while performing they are the most magnificent creature you have ever seen. You cannot look away. And then, when they come to dinner, they may or may not shine, but it is a disappointment no matter what, because you come face-to-face with their humanness. They are not human while performing - they are electric.
Truly magnificent and inspiring teachers are rare. In order to be a great teacher, you need to excel in your chosen field, master your medium, take your medium further, and communicate clearly, and with patience and joy, everything you know about your art.
You cannot hold back from your students, because to hold back is to cheat the art. But more importantly, you need to embody what your art stands for. You need to live it. You need to BE it. Only in this way can a student really, somatically, take in the teaching. The teaching, in the end, is not through words and examples and corrections - though all of that is important and necessary. The teaching is, in its essence, through the body. This is especially true in dance, but it's true in all the arts. The brush stroke of a painting, the breath of a spoken poem, the motion of hands on drums - in order to accomplish these things on a high level, you must be relaxed, you must know yourself, know who you are, and have the ability to share it. This is what Myra Krien embodies. And this is also what Myra teaches in her SEEDs program.
This self-awareness and self-acceptance is important for any woman, but especially teenagers, which is what the SEEDs program was created for. Myra teaches them American Tribal Style belly-dance, and in the same program, she teaches them personal and social skills that will empower them to be confident, independent and successful women. She uses dance as the medium that allows everyone to come together, to work and perform together. The dancing promotes trust and self-knowledge. It is never about competition, as other dance forms, and so much of our society is. Instead, through ATS, Myra builds a community of fellow dancers, and teaches them to trust and support themselves and their fellow dancers. Through journaling, writing exercises, and talking circles, the SEEDs program teaches the girls how to listen to their own voice, respect everyone else's voice, and figure out and accomplish their goals. She helps them to access their innermost potential.
This innermost potential is what we all want to access within ourselves. I think of this as a small seed of daring within us. If allowed to grow, that tender small shoot will transform into a blossoming tree, full of life. If not allowed to grow - a woman could lose access to her innermost self for many years. I think of the SEEDs program as the place where a young woman will find that seed, and nourish it within herself, preparing and strengthening herself for when she is that tall, blossoming, full-of-life tree. In very practical ways, the SEEDs Program teaches the young women to figure out who they really are. Myra invites prominent guests in to speak about their careers and how they accomplish their goals; she discusses finances and teaches the students how to manage money, find work, and work hard. She discusses such topics as discipline, work ethics, creativity, and competition. In the talkin g circles, the students learn how to really listen to one another, and learn that essentially, we all have similar fears and concerns, desires and needs, and yet also, we are each unique, and have some importance here on earth. SEEDs is a celebration of this, a way to celebrate others and themselves.
Myra Krien, in the end, is merely human. But through tremendous hard work and dedication, through endless hours of committing herself to creating this extensive program, she has put in a super-human effort. She has spent years creating various fundraising avenues so that girls who can't afford to attend SEEDs attend anyway. There are endless accounts from the girls, mostly of this nature: "I have never felt this secure and happy with myself and it's all due to SEEDs." Or, "SEEDs has the power to change lives, because it gives its participants the power to change themselves; and it is a rare gift to find oneself in such a beautiful place, surrounded by such beautiful people, and to know that you are beautiful too."
I think the real gift that Myra gives these girls, and the SEEDs program is designed to give, is exactly that: the power and knowledge to fully accept themselves, and also the power to change themselves into who they want to become. Part of the way we perceive reality is related to how we perceive our bodies, thus, if we change our perception of our bodies, we can change our perception of reality. It is a gift that cannot be given unless you are grounded and spiritual enough to provide not just the context, but the example of how to embody who you are with grace and love, thus allowing everyone to embody their unique selves with confidence. The SEEDs program achieves just this.
