Our Community Agreements
We're so glad you'll be moving with us soon! Please take your time review and understand these community agreements before committing to upholding them in class.
These are always a work in progress. We fully invite suggestions and we as instructors do not look to go unquestioned.
Anything you'd like to add? Email us at info@criticalmassdancecompany.org!
These are always a work in progress. We fully invite suggestions and we as instructors do not look to go unquestioned.
- Every prompt is an invitation
None of our activities are mandatory, and you are encouraged to engage (or not engage) with them in a way that helps you feel comfort, support and ease. We are experimenting with practices that support us in listening to and honoring our body. Always ask for and receive clear consent from someone before initiating any physical contact. - Confidentiality
We value building trust, respecting privacy; sharing the wisdom and not the identity when referencing anything shared in class - Honoring diverse ways of participating
We recognize that long pauses, listening and/or absorbing are all valid ways of engaging; words, movement, sound, and stillness are all welcome forms of communication - Being Accountable to each other
We are conscious of and have integrity with our language and our behavior. Acknowledging our impact on others, regardless of intention; making amends when harm is caused to build and repair trust
Anything you'd like to add? Email us at info@criticalmassdancecompany.org!
What is Dance from the Heart?
Critical Mass Dance Company (CMDC) awakens and activates the creative, intuitive power of the heart through dance & movement for healing, transformation and wellness in mind, body and spirit.
CMDC teaches a trauma-informed, community-based embodiment practice called Dance from the Heart:
- Dance From The Heart helps us to envision and embody our greatest visions for our lives and world using 7 simple steps
- As we embody these visions with movement, we help create the change we wish to see in the world
- Dance from the Heart supports collective care by cultivating mental health, building communities of wellness and envisioning systems that promote wellbeing on all levels
Our Vision
We envision a world where:
- Humanity is rooted in living & leading from the heart, creating change from the inside out
- All people have access to dance & other holistic embodiment practices that help them connect to their heart
- We embody an intersectional approach to unity and collaboration that celebrates the diverse human experience
- Heart-centered movement contributes to the well-being of humanity and our stewardship of the planet earth
What does Trauma-Informed Mean?
Principles of our Trauma-Informed Practices:
While we do not require our partners or attendees to be trained in trauma-informed practices, we do provide some base guidelines for how to practice together in a trauma-informed way. Rather than trying to predict every little way harm can happen, we aim to be transparent and thorough about what each event entails so that potential participants can make informed decisions and preparations about their attendance. And, we prepare to practice accountability and repair in the inevitable instances of distress or harm that are inherent in being new at being in community together.
For an example of how these principles can be applied, you can reference this article by Misha (she/her), our Director of Planning & Story Stewardship.
The goal with these practices is not to be perfect or account for 100% of all the possibilities where harm/trauma can happen.
The goal with these practices is to do what we can with the information we have, and to be prepared to tend to each other if and when missteps happen.
While we do not require our partners or attendees to be trained in trauma-informed practices, we do provide some base guidelines for how to practice together in a trauma-informed way. Rather than trying to predict every little way harm can happen, we aim to be transparent and thorough about what each event entails so that potential participants can make informed decisions and preparations about their attendance. And, we prepare to practice accountability and repair in the inevitable instances of distress or harm that are inherent in being new at being in community together.
For an example of how these principles can be applied, you can reference this article by Misha (she/her), our Director of Planning & Story Stewardship.
- Safety - fostering physical and psychological safety
- Trustworthiness & Transparency - doing what you say, saying what you do, and having open visibility/access to operations in a way that builds trust
- Collaboration & Mutuality - leveling power differences, reflecting our values in the connections we make with others, acknowledging the healing effects of sharing power + shared decision-making
- Peer Support - connections with peers that cultivate hope, recovery, healing, etc.
- Voice, Choice, & Agency - honoring members as the experts in their own experiences, leaders as facilitators of members making their own informed choices (as opposed to being a “controller” of what their progression “should” look like) and supporting staff in what it takes to create these types of relationships
- Cultural Humility - recognizing and addressing historical and cultural trauma, incorporating policies/protocols/processes that are responsive to the racial, ethnic, and cultural needs of individuals served, leveraging the healing value of individuals’ cultural connections/practices
- realize the impacts of trauma and how it can affect people and groups
- recognize the signs of trauma
- have a system which can respond to trauma
- resist re-traumatization
The goal with these practices is not to be perfect or account for 100% of all the possibilities where harm/trauma can happen.
The goal with these practices is to do what we can with the information we have, and to be prepared to tend to each other if and when missteps happen.
Our Values
Dance is healing: Supporting holistic health and wellness on the physical, emotional, spiritual and mental levels with dance
Full creative expression of all people: Providing an environment that encourages all bodies to move and express freely
Respecting the inherent value in all: Appreciating that everyone has something important to contribute.
Creating community: Building strong, lasting relationships that lifts up the well-being of all
Transformation from within: Shifting our inner world (thoughts, feelings, etc) to make change in the external world
Heart-centered organizing: Embodying an organizing principle of heart-led leadership for inclusion, equity and collective action
Catalyzing social change: Raising consciousness to inspire peace and justice through healing movement
Full creative expression of all people: Providing an environment that encourages all bodies to move and express freely
Respecting the inherent value in all: Appreciating that everyone has something important to contribute.
Creating community: Building strong, lasting relationships that lifts up the well-being of all
Transformation from within: Shifting our inner world (thoughts, feelings, etc) to make change in the external world
Heart-centered organizing: Embodying an organizing principle of heart-led leadership for inclusion, equity and collective action
Catalyzing social change: Raising consciousness to inspire peace and justice through healing movement
Inclusion Statement
CMDC’s mission aims to support the healing, empowerment and the liberation of Black, Indigenous, and communities of color through the transformative act of dance and movement. We aspire to break free from our system’s inequities by uplifting all bodies expressions, abilities, cultural and ethnic backgrounds. We center the wellness of immigrants (documented and undocumented), self-identified girls & women, and LGBTQIA+ individuals. We welcome the full participation of gender beyond the binary, sexuality as a galaxy and a collaborative creation of a healthy, diverse and inclusive community through dance.
CMDC is committed to providing accessible programs in Spanish and English to the most vulnerable communities in Los Angeles and beyond. We provide free and low-cost classes in multiple languages and work with other nonprofit organizations who uphold our values of equity and liberation and center the needs of marginalized communities. Through our partnerships, CMDC offers various programs at no/low cost to our participants to ensure accessibility.
CMDC is committed to providing accessible programs in Spanish and English to the most vulnerable communities in Los Angeles and beyond. We provide free and low-cost classes in multiple languages and work with other nonprofit organizations who uphold our values of equity and liberation and center the needs of marginalized communities. Through our partnerships, CMDC offers various programs at no/low cost to our participants to ensure accessibility.