A week ago, on September 5th 2020, we hosted our third Benefit event, this time online. In our last post, we spoke about our response to Covid-19 and how we managed to make a positive impact on our closest community. We have learned that sometimes making a difference for the people around us, can have a lasting positive impact, initiating a trickle effect or how we say in our Public Policy terms, positive externalities.
That was the inspiration to our this year’s online benefit, Fit For A Cause! This time, we benefited Colombia based organization, Ases del Swing, a football club for underprivileged children situated in Cali, Colombia. It is located in a district that is often overlooked and is marked by immense gang violence and drug abuse. In order to help children find a brighter future, this organization trains these children after school, while also taking care of their mental health and school work professionally. For further information, please visit: http://asesfc.com/ !!! They are doing some amazing work within their community, causing change for the children participating in the program, and that change will again have positive externalities towards their classmates at school etc…eventually changing the mindsets of a whole community, that is in need, in a positive way.
In order to support the progress and to achieve this goal, funds are needed to provide such service and tireless work. Everyone, who we collaborated with from Ases del Swing had an infectious passion and pure heart that inspired us to host this day of various fitness classes and surprise performances, all by international staff and artists!
We had Gabriela Vazquez from Mexico teach a Pilates class, we had Midnight Village perform a couple of their amazing songs all the way from Los Angeles, California. Furthermore, we hosted Anderson Muñoz from Mallorca for a High Intensity Fitness class; Keba, a beautiful musician from Trinidad&Tobago, now situated in South Florida; Yoga with Colombia based instructor, Sandra Benaim; a beautiful French dance artist, Valériane Louisy, who performed all the way from New York City; we also had the amazing Brazilian dancer, Leonardo Brito, host a Capoeira class; Briana Mendez taught everyone a Pilates movement class from Miami, Florida and Allegra Preuss concluded the event with her famous Jellyfish Jam session. In addition, Music On Pointe also screened Runaway, a collaboration the was initiated a year ago by our director, movement artist, Chi Villines and music artist, Keba! (reshmadanse.com/runaway)
One thing the two organizations, Ases del swing and Music On Pointe, have in common is, that we both are celebrating 5 years of our existence! We, Music On Pointe, also came to life in 2015, intending to create an open space for diverse artists to collaborate and host benefits. We have hosted a successful benefit concert at The University of the Arts in Philadelphia in benefit of First Dance Studios Western Jamaica and last year, we held a benefit for Strong Girls Inc in Miami. Check out our blog page through musiconpointe.com for all the recaps! Our highest goal is always to inspire diverse communities around the world to create a better understanding of each other by experiencing representative art&movement forms in hopes to create global peace.
This benefit, although online, achieved exactly that type of international collaboration and audience that we always dreamed of connecting. We are forever grateful for all participants, staff members, instructors and artists for their valuable contributions. As a thank you, we have prepared a recap video. We hope you enjoy it!
With all the love and gratitude in our hearts, we wish you strength during these continuing uncertain times and we hope that this will spark a shimmer of hope in your heart.
Your Music On Pointe Team!
Follow us on instagram @music.onpointe to stay up to date.
PS: A big thank you to our creator of our poster, Marisa Bohlmann, who also created our Jamaica “Jammin!” poster five years ago!