Taking comfort in community

[Kella Hanna-Wayne]

Hi friends, 

If you are like me, your heart is heavy right now. It feels wrong to simply proceed business as usual. The level of loss and injustice our country is suffering weighs on me every day and Renee Good and Alex Pretti are both on my mind frequently. In times like these, I try to take comfort in community. 

In November, Bailonga held a fundraiser for a local immigrant-justice group and our community showed up. We raised $1,063 for their group, which was more than they ever expected. It has further enabled their group to witness, document, and resist ICE's efforts to scare our city into compliance and conformity. That fight to resist continues. 

In addition to Bailonga's stance on current events being clear given our support for the immigrants in our city, I believe that the practice of social dance is itself a challenge to the status quo. There are very few contexts in our society where such a deep level of intimacy and trust is developed without requiring blood or romance based relationships. At milongas, people of a wide range of backgrounds and identities come together to share a common language- Tango. And social dance overall is a known evidence-based method for healing emotional trauma.

I know there are a lot of places to invest your energy right now and you only have so many resources. But I wanted to invite you to come dance on Wednesday, connect, take comfort in the proximity of others, use the evening as an escape or a means to move through your emotions. Tango has been my safe space for many years. I hope it is yours too.

--Kella