Celebrate The Beat 2016

It was that time of year again, Celebrate The Beat time!  Earlier in the year we didn't think Alex was going to have a group to dance with like she has the last two years.  She always danced with a group in San Pancho since she went to school there.  This year, there were no groups funded in San Pancho.  Bummer!  Costa Verde School and the Sayulita Public Elementary School were funded and set to be on stage this year.  Then, an email came from local program coordinator, dance instructor, choreographer and force of nature, Colleen Macomber.  Colleen knew that Alex was the only dancer from the previous year's San Pancho group who lived in Sayulita.  Not to mention our girl has SKILLS!  By special invitation, Alex was asked to join what was called the "Grupo de Excellencia".  This was a mix of kids from different schools and ages.  She was absolutely thrilled to be dancing with Colleen again and even better two of her best friends were also in the group.

Each color T-shirt represented a different performing group.  Usually by age group and school.

Not in the photo are the hundreds of parents and friends in attendance watching.

Grupo de Excellencia.  Can you find the blonde pony tail?

I've said it before but this is one of my favorite events and Sayulita seems to have the biggest and most vocal crowd to applaud the kid's efforts.  Alex just loves it and I really wish there was more dance available for her.  One of the unexpected things that happened was that during dress rehearsals where all the groups were present for practice Alex crossed paths with several of the kids who she went to the public kindergarten with her first year in Mexico.  She has grown so much since then but it was good to hear that the kids recognized each other still.  Such a great program for the kids I just wish it could last all year.

Celebrate the Beat is a non-profit and are always looking for help to bring the program to the kids each year.

Celebrate The Beat

Celebrate The Beat came to the area again this year and Alex was finally old enough to participate.  What is Celebrate The Beat(CTB)?  You can read all about this great not-for-profit program by clicking the link above.  Briefly, in there own words:

Our Mission is to teach inspirational music and dance classes that help children discover their potential by motivating them to believe in themselves, to value artistic expression, and to develop a personal standard of excellence.

There is a lot more to it than this and you really have to see a performance to understand the results.  We were encouraged to attend one of these performances a couple years ago and immediately became one of our favorite events.  The staff from CTB goes to local schools and gathers kids of a certain age who are interested in participating in the program.  It does not matter if the school is a one room classroom or a larger school in a bigger town.  The kids are assembled and during the course of a few weeks they are taught some basic dance moves, choreography and then they join other kids from other schools for a large performance.  The kids perform identifying their school associating by wearing a colored T-shirt.

This is NOT some polished dance recital.  Some kids can really move and dance, some kids really can't but that's not the point of the program.  These kids are out there giving it all they have with only a T-shirt, a smile on their faces, the skills they have and the coaching they have received in the previous weeks.  The smiles and energy are contagious and the kids walk away from the experience for the better and so do those in attendance.

Alex watched from the sidelines the past two years until she was welcome to attend a dance class last spring given by the fantastic "Maestra de Dance", Colleen and her staff.  When CTB came around again this year, Escuela Del Mundo did not have a group of their own so based on Alex' participation last year in Colleen's class she was welcome to join a group called "Grupo de Excellencia" represented in orange.  She was the youngest participant in her group. This is where Ashley and I play the proud(and amazed parents) since Alex has not really had any dance experience.  She does not even turn on music and dance in front of the mirror or see dance on television.  How she understands movement, beat, rhythm, coordination and stay cool on stage performing is beyond us.  Ashley danced when she was young and I've always been active and fairly athletic.  I guess some of those genes have passed down to our daughter in some way because it has been amazing to watch her just go do it and do it well.  She loves it and that's what matters.  You will see in the video Alex' "wardrobe malfunction" when someone stepped on her shoe and she tries like crazy to keep going and pull her shoe back on.  Got to love live performances.  Can't wait until next year.  

There is more to the performance than this but these videos highlight most of the action that Alex' group was in.  If you are not into the Spanish introductions, you can forward past the first two minutes or so of Part 1.  Perhaps videos only grandparents will love but fun to say the least.

Part 1

...and part 2

...and part 3

...and part 4