COMMOTION - COMMUNITY IN MOTION

Founded in 2018 by a cancer survivor and disabled veteran who discovered the transformative power of dance and a Latinx immigrant and professional dancer with a passion for sharing his culture through the arts, ComMotion is dedicated to making dance and movement accessible to all. What began as a small dance class for veterans has blossomed into a vibrant community reaching over 40,000 individuals worldwide: children, seniors, cancer survivors, military veterans, those living with challenges…EVERYONE!

Through in-person and virtual workshops that incorporate dance, fitness, and martial arts, ComMotion fosters health, joy, and cross-cultural understanding. Our evidence-based programs consistently demonstrate higher engagement, reduced stress, and improved quality of life compared to similar activities. More than half of our participants are from communities of color, more than half of our youth participants are from rural/underserved areas and/or on free or reduced lunch, and the majority of our adult and senior participants identify as a person with a disability or a care partner.

ComMotion's unique approach emphasizes portability and adaptability, allowing us to bring our programs directly to those we serve, regardless of location or ability. We have partnered with hundreds of organizations, including hospitals, schools, and community centers.

Our teaching artists have diverse backgrounds and experience as dancers, teaching artists, and artists in health, as well as extensive training and certifications in adaptive sports and recreation, personal training, senior fitness, Pilates, wheelchair dance, and dance for Parkinson’s Disease. Our program staff includes social workers, educators, project managers, and a neuroscientist, hailing from North America, South America, and Asia.

As artists in schools, our bilingual, multimedia educational programs have brought authentic Latinx stories to life through the arts for over 25,000 youth of all backgrounds & abilities. “Rhythms of My Community/Los Ritmos de Mi Comunidad”, “The Adventures of Lily/Las Aventuras de Lily”, “Language in Motion/Lenguaje en Movimiento” and “Biblioteca Madre” were developed in collaboration with partners in the US and Latin America, including educators, artists, and literacy and mental health organizations, with the support of county, state, and federal grants.
Programs include direct connections to Curriculum Standards & SEL Competencies.
Students who completed the Rhythms of My Community program showed an average of 41% improvement on measures of geography, rhythms, and general knowledge of Latin America.
Our award-winning Biblioteca Madre program amplifies the voices of indigenous artists, female artists, & artists with disabilities across Latin America, empowering them to reach new audiences through an online multimedia educational library that is available at no charge.
Learn more at https://commotionnc.org/for-kids/

We have taught thousands of seniors in settings ranging from active adult communities to senior centers to adult day care & memory care units.
We have partnered with organizations including the Smithsonian Institution, the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, & others to create immersive programs combining visual art, music, & movement for people with dementia & their care partners.
Our programs consistently rank higher in engagement, reduction of stress, improvement of quality of life than other similar activities. From the director of an adult day care program: “We do a lot of different activities here that provide a lot of movement & exercise, but there’s nothing like this for them. It becomes a spontaneous movement that they’re willing to do. I don’t know how to replicate it.”
Learn more at https://commotionnc.org/adaptive-dance/

We have a range of programming for the Latinx community.
Our Maneje el Estrés Bailando program for Spanish-speaking women was developed in partnership with social workers and health educators at Wake County Human Services. It combined dance instruction and other stress management techniques, with all of the programming presented in Spanish. Participants’ average scores on the PHQ-9 Depression Screening reduced more than 20%.
Our Circulos de Alegria/Circles of Joy workshop for Spanish-speaking families was developed in partnership with Hispanic-serving organizations, teaching artists & social workers. Program goals included providing artistic & healthy tools for Latinx families, to create an inclusive community network that contributes to social justice & equity. 86% of participants reported that they learned a new way to think about their body & health, & about the importance of sharing their heritage, & 100% reported that their family was more connected & would recommend the program to other families.

Our ComMotion Facilitator training has provided tools for over 200 people to lead activities in their communities.
67% of participants identified as a person of color and over 20% identified as a person with disability, a military veteran, and/or a cancer survivor.
90% of graduates reported that the course gave them new tools and techniques that they can use in their community.
Our Facilitator App provides instructional videos, lesson plans, and other resources. We have held virtual & in person practicum sessions for Facilitators to share best practices & Facilitator graduates have contributed to on-going training & curriculum development.
We partnered with Duke University and El Centro Hispano to design & implement a Spanish-language Facilitator training program for community health workers to lead on-going programming for Latinx seniors in the Durham area.

We are recognized as experts in inclusive programming and have been asked to teach a variety of workshops and webinars for educators and teaching artists, in collaboration with the Kennedy Center, the NC Center for Afterschool Programs, Arts Access NC, Clemson University, NC Central University, and more. We were contracted by NASA & Northern Arizona University to re-design their PLANETS educational program to be more inclusive of different abilities & cultures.

Award winning programming:
Recognized for its impact, ComMotion has received prestigious awards, including the NC Peace Prize for promoting peace and cross-cultural understanding and the Sepassi Spirit Award for our innovative work amplifying the voices of indigenous peoples, females, and people with disabilities in Latin America.

For more than 8 years, ComMotion has spread the joy of movement, strengthened individuals and communities, and shared Latin American culture, collaborating with partners and educating facilitators. We offer in-person and virtual adaptive and inclusive programs in English or Spanish. ComMotion: A movement that dances to the rhythm of human potential.