Minneapolis Witch Tasha-Rose knows the power of belly dance and how it can transform. She’s hoping to use that transformational energy to help at-risk girls break the poverty cycle through the empowerment found in learning a cooperative dance style know as American Tribal Style belly dance. To achieve this goal, Tasha-Rose has formed a group called Our Dancing Daughters and is seeking funding for a larger studio space and for scholarships for young women in need.
![Tasha-Rose instructs students at the Kamala Chaand dance studio. [courtesy photo]](https://wildhunt.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/11/edited-500x275.png)
Tasha-Rose instructs students at the Kamala Chaand dance studio. [courtesy photo]
While Our Dancing Daughters is not a religious organization, Tasha-Rose is assisted by a board made up all Pagans and Witches. Board members include LaDonna Bartol, Laurie “Remedy” Howard, Breana Larson, and Becky Munson, with Tasha-Rose as the Executive Director.
So far they have raised $1,314 of their $10,000 goal on their GoFundMe site. Stacie Braford, who made a donation to Our Dancing Daughters, says, “This is an awesome thing you are doing! Love it. I wish we’d had access to something like this when I was young.”
The Wild Hunt talked to Tasha-Rose about her plans for Our Dancing Daughters, how her Pagan ethics guides her in this project, and why she believes this could be a valuable resource for at-risk teen girls.
Our Dancing Daughter’s Executive Director Tasha-Rose
Cara Schulz: Why did you start Our Dancing Daughters? What was the inspiration?
Tasha-Rose: Our Dancing Daughters is a concept I have had for a lot of years. I have daughters and it initially started as a way to get daughters dancing with their mothers. Slowly it evolved in concept to where we are now.
CS: How will Our Dancing Daughters have a positive impact on at-risk young women?
TR: Our Dancing Daughters is designed to teach young women to dance cooperatively using the American Tribal Style format that I and two of my troupe mates are certified in. There is so much emphasis put on at-risk youth that they are on their own. We want them to learn interdependence. Additionally we are all taking crisis intervention training eventually, in order to better mentor these girls. Other components will be financial literacy, education accountability and getting into college. We hope to team up with other groups on occasion as well, namely The Emily Project, for education on healthy body image.
CS: Paganism and non-western styles of dance seem to go together. Why do yo think that is?
TR: I think it has a lot to do with the ability to trance out in this dance form. In ATS you have to be in the moment and communicating with the others dancers. That in itself is a form of trance I feel.
CS: How do your religious ethics come into play with this effort?
TR: My religious ethics have everything to do with this. I believe firmly in helping people to achieve their greatest self whenever possible. It can sound selfish I suppose, like I’m seeking accolades, but really I’m not. Self-empowerment comes from oneself. No one can do that work for anyone else, though I believe it’s each of our duties to be instrumental in the lives following ours, to make for a better world. Altruistic? Maybe. But I do what I can anyway.
CS: Who is Our Dancing Daughters open to and how will you assess eligibility for scholarships?
TR: We will open our applications up to anyone who wants to apply. There will be some focus on family income, since this program is in part focused on breaking the poverty cycle through empowerment. We will also be asking for teacher recommendations, hold a panel interview and ask that they write an essay for us. It isn’t necessarily only about those of limited financial means, however. There are young ladies from wealthier families who may not have involved parents and are suffering. We want to reach them, too.
CS: How long is your funding effort going on? How are the grant seeking efforts going?
TR: We have been working on raising funds for about 4 months now. We are just over 10% funded. We don’t have to raise the whole of it though, which is nice. Our grant research has opened lots of doors for us.There are lots of people who love to give money to projects like ours. We have two of our Executive Board going to a grant information meeting tonight in fact.
* * *
Tasha-Rose says the organization is at a major crossroads right now. Next week they have the opportunity, through the East Side Arts Council, to get into Washington High School to teach American Trial Style dance for a week. Tasha says, “It’s a really big foot in the door that we are all really excited about.”
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I’m afraid I don’t really get the term “at risk”. Is it just a synonym for “poor” ?
Generally speaking, it means those whose life stories include a number of traits that put them “at risk” for failures of various sorts. For instance, in the public school where I teach, we are most concerned about the markers that correlate with a high risk of dropping out of school, or failing to graduate on time. Those include some things that are obvious, like being held back a grade or a pattern of absenteeism, but also some things that are less obvious, like whether or not a student is involved with extra-curricular activities or has a close connection with a teacher.
“At risk” in terms of generational poverty undoubtedly includes whether or not a teen’s background is from a poor family–there’s much, much less mobility between classes than most Americans think there is; don’t know how it is in Britain–but there are other variables as well: race and education, obviously, but also what specific neighborhood someone is in, access to things like public transportation, and/or parks or libraries within walking distance… I don’t know for sure what Cara meant by the use of the term, but if she is using it properly, the kids in question will have more in common than poverty.
Okay, thanks for your answer. Not being from Britain I cannot say how it is there (Léoht might come by though).
In any cases, it’s good those kids get some social/artistic things to do. It can only be a positive experience !
*smacks forehead* D’oh! Sorry I confused your place of origin, dantes. (Did you say you were from outside the U.S., or am I making that up? Scandinavia, perhaps? Again, sorry to get it wrong; contexts matter! *crooked grin*)
No problems ;-Ð.
I indeed live in Scandinavia, but I’m from Southern Europe originally (so yes, well out of the US), I have seem my share of social misery there so it’s great that this non-profit will be set up.
What Cat said, along with a few other factors that fit under “at risk populations” in terms of educational and sociological study– child abuse of the child or a family member, family background of alcoholism or drug addiction, parent educational attainment level (did parents graduate high school?), needing school lunch vouchers (it isn’t uncommon in some school districts for the free lunch to be the only regular meal a student gets)… many others, these are the ones I most readily remember. Cat is right, it’s not as simple as just a synonym for being poor, but are things that often correlate with generational poverty.
I’m both Pagan and a belly dancer (not ATS, though I love ATS), and I’m very excited by this project.
I wonder, though– would there be future plans to open it up to other sexes, particularly those in the LGBTQ (QUILTBAG?) community? I know sexual minority kids tend to be at-risk as well, and the American belly dance community has been open with sexual minorities in the past.
I agree entirely. Bellydance can be a wonderful activity for people of all genders and I hope that this group is open to branching out and being more inclusive.
In my area at least, ATS and Improvisational Tribal groups tend to be more attached to the out-dated and historically inaccurate idea that bellydance is an exclusively women’s dance than the Oriental forms. Thankfully on a more national scale this seems not to be so much the case.
I do hope though that they do not overly white-wash the heritage of bellydance, which is Middle Eastern and North African in origin, even though the particular ATS format was created on the West Coast of the U.S. It would be a great opportunity to learn about other cultures as well as personal empowerment, self-expression, and improved body image.
Respectfully, what is your justification for labelling with “out-dated and historically inaccurate”? I’m no expert — I am the student of experts in various disciplines including cultural anthropology and history — and there is little controversy of which I’m aware over the theory that belly dancing originated in formalized instruction in muscle and pain control during labor and birth. It was exclusively a women’s custom. Arguably its advent as “entertainment” derives from patriarchal influences and pressures, with emphasis on the erotic and sensual aspects.
Hi Franklin-Evans,
The theory that bellydance originated to help women ease birth pains and prepare their bodies to deliver is pretty popular and widespread. There is probably some truth to that statement as I know bellydancer Morocco witnessed Berber women using some movements that are within the bellydance repertoire to assist in labor (http://www.casbahdance.org/dancing-the-baby-into-the-world/). However, that doesn’t necessarily mean that it as a whole was only a women’s dance. Morocco’s own website apparently used to host an article by Tarik Sultan called “Oriental Dance: It Isn’t Just for Woman (And Never Was)” but her site was re-designed not too long ago and it seems to no longer be available there. I’ve tried to locate it elsewhere but so far haven’t had any luck.
Bellydance ultimately is derived from folk-dances in the region in which both women and men take part. When Westerners (particularly Western men) started visiting the Middle East, they were not interested in seeing male belly dancers as it did not suit their Orientalist fantasy and so the presence of male bellydancers tended to dwindle in response to their preferences. Thankfully there has been a recent resurgence of male bellydancers in its countries of origin.There’s a really wonderful article the history of male bellydancers by Anthony Shay in “Belly Dance: Orientalism, Transnationalism & Harem Fantasy” which addresses the issue.
I was also able to locate some information online: http://jasminjahal.com/articles/02_02_male_belly_d.html
http://www.gildedserpent.com/art45/laramen.htm
http://www.worldbellydance.com/history/ – see the section under the “Egypt” heading in particular
http://www.bellydancemerseyside.co.uk/wb/pages/articles/dance/male-belly-dance.php
I’d be shocked if this sort of program had any difficulty serving the entire sexuality spectrum.
The “at-risk” label can be difficult to define, but I have a personal insight and opinion to share as it relates to dancing: self-esteem.
Many of these girls are in a severely depressive (and arguably oppressive) environment. Self-expression can be a critical path for their ability to cope with their situations and find ways to achieve in life in areas most of the rest of us take for granted.
I am intimately familiar with folk dancing. I was an instructor and amateur performer for many years. I’ve accompanied dancers as a musician. There is nothing more personal, more visceral than belly dancing, but all forms of folk dance bring the spirit of their community and communal origins.
Honor to you, Tasha-Rose. May your service be as rewarding to you as I know it can be to the girls whom you will serve.
Sometimes taking kids out of their home environment for a little while can be a good thing, opening doors, broadening perspectives… This is indeed a neat project in that sense.
I was in a performing Bellydance Troupe for about 6 years (Melantha Dance Co.) then the teacher left, and we more or less disbanded. We were a group of all ages and I was on the older end of it…. I am now almost 63, and I miss dancing very much. My daughter (25) went to live in Minneapolis for a 2-year degree program, and is also into dance and has been for many years. We are both living in WI now, but she plans to move back to Minneapolis next year, and wants me to move there as well. That may take another year to accomplish since my husband and I are now involved in moving to an apartment, but if we all manage to get moved up there, perhaps my daughter and I could both be involved in your group…. please have a class for older women too — many of us are also “at risk”, not just from poverty but from health issues and loneliness. Dance is such a wonderful outlet for pain and unhappiness and also a chance to express joy. Blessed Be!
I think this is a really good idea, and I especially like the emphasis on interdependence. I agree that “you’re on your own” is a message that at-risk girls hear entirely too often.
To address the questions/concerns about opening the program up to LGBTQ:
It’s in the works, and we’re looking forward to expanding the program in the future.
Many of the women we teach have gone through some serious trauma, and are not comfortable in mixed-gender classes. Kamala Chaand Dance Company has attempted to have co-ed and men’s classes, with little success – but we do keep that offer open (as well as offering private lessons).