My name is Jen, and I’m the Founder of Dance for Humanity.
As a Community Leader and Ceremonial Dance Artist, I am deeply passionate about engaging community and using movement, dance, music and other creative mediums to connect people in nourishing ways to themselves, each other, and our planet.
Through my art, I communicate key concepts around regenerative, Whole Systems Design, which teaches that in order for us all to thrive, we must holistically have:
- Personal wellness (of mind, body, heart, spirit)
- Social wellness (via conscious, healthy relationships and systems of collaborating)
- Economic wellness (via economies of care like gift and circular economies), and
- Environmental wellness (via sustainable practices like permaculture and regenerative agriculture)
My Goal as an Artist
My overall goal through my art is to facilitate deeply meaningful, transformative personal experiences; build supportive communities, and have a regenerative social, environmental, and economic impact.
Current Creative Projects
Improvisational Dance in Public for Regenerative Impact:
“Dance Angel”
I set up in public spaces, dancing dedications to support:
- Individuals with their emotional and material needs
- Groups in need (i.e. survivors of natural disasters or war)
- Causes such as social and climate justice issues like increasing regenerative agriculture.
Interactions with public may be filmed and shared online to build a community of people who want to support one another and causes for personal, collective and planetary thriving.
Organized Performances for Regenerative Impact:
“Madre Tierra” (Spanish for “Mother Earth”)
"Madre Tierra" is a ceremonial, fusion dance I created, combining my own intentional movements as well as Salsa & Afro-Latin dance. I perform it publicly to raise awareness of my personal experience as a survivor of childhood cancer linked to environmental pollution to encourage us all to take care of our planet so we can also thrive.
I was deeply inspired by the “Thanksgiving Address”, the central prayer and invocation for the Haudenosaunee (also known as the Iroquois Confederacy or Six Nations — Mohawk, Oneida, Cayuga, Onondaga, Seneca, and Tuscarora), which reflects their relationship of giving thanks for life and the world around them.
I intentionally choreographed my movements to honor the elements of the natural world, as well as to celebrate both the primal and spiritual nature of being human.
My Professional Experience
As a Community Dance Leader, Choreographer, and Performing Artist with 15+ years of experience, I am passionate about leading community groups and gatherings that guide people to connect more deeply, express more freely, and have positive impact - for personal thriving, collective wellbeing and to support eco-social causes.
In dance, I specialize in improvisational, expressive forms such as Contemplative Dance and Authentic Movement, as well as Salsa and Afro-Latin Dance.
Influenced by my training and practice of Group Facilitation, Holistic Coaching, Mindfulness Meditation, and Permaculture and Ecovillage Design, I take an intentional, collaborative, whole systems approach to leading community-building, regenerative impact and dance.
Professionally, I've also served as a Holistic Life & Career Coach, Group Facilitator, and Meditation Teacher for more than 11 years, including time spent at MIT and in private practice.
Education and Credentials
I strive to leverage all of my education and skills to create a whole systems approach to everything I do, meaning including the wellbeing of individuals, community, society, and our environment.
I hold a B.A. in Psychology from Tufts University, M.Ed. from Suffolk University, Four Forces Interpersonal & Group Facilitator Certification, Certificate in Mindfulness & Psychotherapy, and Koru Mindfulness Teacher Certification.
I've also completed the "Contemplative Dance/Authentic Movement Week 1" course, "Grounding Your Village: Ecovillage & Intentional Community Design" course, and my Permaculture Design Certification.