Battery Dance Offers Free Daily Online Classes for Health Care Workers

Inspired by Giving Tuesday Now in early May, Battery Dance instituted a series of free virtual Mindful Movement classes for frontline health care workers. The 15-minute Zoom classes require no prior dance experience and are designed to provide a small dose of tranquility for workers immersed in giving aid to others in dire circumstances. Those interested may fill out this form: batterydance.org/givingback/.

Battery Dance has reached out to hospitals across the U.S.; NY Presbyterian, Weill Cornell Medicine, NYU/Langone, Montefiore and Jacobi Hospitals have included the offering of Battery Dance’s free classes in their resources for staff members.   

“Day after day, we work in isolation and see our audience growing on Battery Dance TV, speaking to the need for sharing a physical, creative response to the very real toxicity around us,” said Founder and Artistic Director Jonathan Hollander. “On the other hand, we also see daily images of health care workers out in the field captured by our friend the fearless photographer Jimin Kim. These images speak powerfully of courage and self-sacrifice and have been a call to action for us.  The Mindful Movement classes are the result.”

Battery Dance’s expert trainers have devised easy-to-follow sequences of movements to allow for the release of physical tension and psycho-emotional stress. They are conducting these Mindful Movement sessions on the following schedule: Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays at 6:15 a.m. and 8:15 p.m.Tuesdays, Thursdays at 12:15 pm. Other timings will be added as demand builds and hospitals in different U.S. and international time zones come on board.

A non-profit dance institution approaching its 45th Anniversary, Battery Dance adheres to the mantra of “Artistic Excellent, Social Relevance.”Equally dedicated to its home base in New York, through public school programs and the annual free public Battery Dance Festival, the Companyis America’s leading cultural ambassador in the realm of dance having performed, taught and collaborated in 70 countries to date.It’s special emphasis on supporting people in trauma and conflict has been seen previously through its work with victims of human trafficking in India and Thailand;countering the stigma of HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of Congo; and addressing issues of public health in Kenya.Over the past four years, Battery Dance has worked in 26 cities in Germany focusing on refugee integration and healing through dance.

ABOUT BATTERY DANCE
As one of America’s leading cultural ambassadors, Battery Dance connects the world through dance. The Company pursues artistic excellence and social relevance by creating vibrant new works, performing on the world’s stages, presenting dance in public spaces, serving the field of dance and teaching people of all ages with special attention to the disadvantaged and areas of conflict. Battery Dance is committed to enhancing the cultural vibrancy of its home community in New York City, extending programming throughout the U.S., and building bridges worldwide through international cultural exchange with programs in 70 countries to date. www.batterydance.org