As part of Bay Area Dance Week, join Big Moves in the studio AND on Zoom in celebrating all bodies with an afternoon of FREE beginner-friendly classes with the most joyful and fat-positive instructors on the block. We’re serving up Gather Round: A Full Body Warm-Up, Belly Dance, Soul Line Dance, Jazz, Access Centered Afro Beats, and Taking Space!

We are so excited to announce that our annual Day of Dance is BACK, in the studio and on ZOOM!  As part of Bay Area Dance Week, join Big Moves in celebrating all bodies with an afternoon of FREE beginner-friendly classes with the most joyful and body-positive instructors on the block. We’re serving up Belly Dance, Line Dance, Jazz, Interpretive Dance Techniques, Burlesque, and Stretching for Stressful Times!

After over two years of rehearsing on Zoom in our living rooms, offices, yards, and bedrooms, emFATic DANCE has returned to the studio to rehearse masked and in-person!  We are so excited to be able to dance together in person at The Beat, our home studio, once again.  At this time we are not holding open rehearsals or planning public events,  but stay tuned and we will let you know if and when that changes.  We are hoping to start offering open rehearsals in the coming months after we settle back into the studio. Right now, we are focusing on getting used to working together in person while acclimating to dancing in masks.  We hope you all are safe and well!

We would usually want to try to say something peppy and fun to get your attention in this update, but the state of the world really makes that feel strange.  We hope you’re all staying as safe as you can, and getting by as best you can. This moment makes us realize how much we value all of you and the community we’ve been sharing with you for 20 years. So this update, like this year, will be a little different, but we’re encouraged to know you’re out there and with us as we navigate this new and uncharted global situation. Most of this year is up in the air for us, as it is for everyone, but there’s still some news to be shared and some dance to be had (details below!). Until we meet again, stay tuned and stay safe!

- Like everyone else, we just don’t know what the rest of 2020 will look like, and we’re respecting the Shelter in Place orders to only go out for essential work and activities.  We don’t yet know what this will mean for our events in 2020 (especially as we are defaulting to being very careful related to any health and safety issues), but at this point we can say that Big Moves as an organization looks to be in a good position to ride this out.

- THIS SUNDAY 4/26: Day of Dance goes virtual!  That’s right! Our low-pressure, high-joy annual event will be going live this Sunday afternoon.  Take a dance break while you’re sheltering in place; we’ll be beaming some fun over the internet with bite-sized, beginner-friendly classes from sweet and talented instructors, and a zoom room full of participants committed to moving joyfully in their bodies, regardless of size. Drop in for a class or stay for the whole day! While we’re sad we can’t be together in the same physical space, we’re excited that the virtual format means people from outside the Bay Area can also join in. This day has always been intended as a place where people wanting to dip their toes into dance can do so in a comfortable way, and we’re hoping people will take advantage of this virtual opportunity! This event is FREE and open to the public, but you must register through this form: https://forms.gle/KfGtuU5N9pTNVNwa7  For more information visit the event page here.

- emFATic DANCE has been meeting over zoom for our regular rehearsals, and we’re talking about possibly opening some of these sessions to students. We’ve thrown around ideas about a stretch and strength class geared toward this time of shelter in place, a ballet and jazz skills class for larger dancers, and other ideas.  Let us know if you’d be interested, or have an idea of what you’d like to see! We’re limited by the space of our homes and the virtual medium, but we’d still like to see some students’ faces in the studio. Email us at jessica@bigmoves.org or matilda@bigmoves.org for more information.

- In compliance with Shelter in Place, we are not currently accepting donations for Cupcakes and Muffintops. We know that many of you have been cleaning out your closets while you’re at home, and we’re so thrilled you’ve thought of us for your clothes! We’ll be very excited to receive your donations when we are able to do so again.

- We’re all thrown into new situations and managing new challenges right now, so it might take us longer than usual to respond to questions and inquiries. We appreciate your patience and understanding about this- we promise we will get back to you, it just might not be fast!

Thank you and we miss you all.

Thank you, thank you, THANK YOU to everyone who came out to Covering Our Tracks this past weekend! We had such a fantastic weekend of shows and having such an amazing, enthusiastic audience both days really made our spirits soar!

A HUGE thank you to all our emFATic DANCErs and guest performers who worked so hard and gave so much time and energy to be a part of this weekend and who all performed their hearts out on stage. We love and treasure you all.

And another GIANT thank you to our AMAZING tech crew who made the show look and sound great, while keeping everything moving seamlessly.

Big Moves’ own emFATic DANCE returns in an all-new dance spectacular, Covering Our Tracks, with special guests: Ifasina, ThaHood AlKemist; Tammy Johnson; Chico Suave; Mone’t Ha-Sidi; Tigress and Sarah; JoyBody Crew; and Shapes & Shades Dance Company! The incomparable Juicy D. Light emcees.

Covering Our Tracks
Saturday, July 6th, 2019: doors at 6:30, show at 7:00pm
and Sunday, July 7th, 2019: doors at 1:30, show at 2:00pm
Odell Johnson Performing Arts Center

$15 advance/$20 door
Kids 4-17 $10 at the door, three and under free
CoveringOurTracks.brownpapertickets.com

Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/416645209067554/

Accessibility notes: Theater and bathrooms are wheelchair accessible. Fixed theater seats have arms. Seat width on fixed seats with arms is 19 inches. There will be a number of armless chairs in the accessible seating section. We will be reserving the row of seats behind the accessible section so that people in mixed size/ability groups attending the show together can sit together. To reach the accessible entrance, enter the campus from Fallon St. and enter at the back of the theater. Go down the hallway and enter the theater directly. We will have a volunteer check you in at will call or take your money for a ticket. There are accessible bathrooms on this level. There is street parking on Fallon St. and flat, but sloped, pathways to get to the theater. There are a number of disabled parking spaces available in the Laney parking lot closest to 8th St. and Fallon and the theater. From that lot, you will go down an alley behind the theater to the entrance that is closest to 10th St. People can also be dropped off directly at the accessible entrance door. We will have a volunteer posted at the entrance and lots of signs!

As part of Bay Area Dance Week, join Big Moves in celebrating all bodies with an afternoon of FREE beginner-friendly classes with the most joyful and body-positive instructors on the block at our annual FREE Day of Dance, Sunday April 28th, 2019 (12-5pm at The Beat in Berkeley, CA)! We’re serving up Belly Dance, Soul Line Dancing, Afro Beat, Lyrical, and Burlesque, and closing it all out with a mini-performance from our own emFATic DANCE. Feel free to drop in and out all day, just be sure to arrive 15 minutes before any class to register. And did we mention it’s FREE?

Day of Dance 2019 Schedule
11:45 Registration begins
12:00-12:30 Welcome and warm-up with Matilda St. John, Co-Artistic Director of emFATic DANCE
12:30-1:15: Afro Beat with Ifasina, ThaHood AlKemist
1:15-2:00:Soul Line Dance with Michele Germany
2:00-215: BREAK
2:15-3:00pm: Lyrical with Jessica Judd, Co-Artistic Director of emFATic DANCE
3:00-3:45: Belly Dance with Tammy Johnson
3:45-4:30 Burlesque with Juicy D Light of Rubenesque Burlesque
4:30: emFATic DANCE mini-performance of a work in progress/wrap-up

Accessibility notes: There are no stairs to get into The Beat and none inside the studio. The dance studio itself, lobby, and bathrooms are all wheelchair accessible. The doorway to the dressing room may not be. Measurements on studio and bathroom doors is 35 inches wide. The dressing room is 30 inches wide. There is free street parking in front of the studio. There will be dancers demonstrating seated adaptations for all movement taught throughout the day. In order to make this event accessible to as many people as possible, we are requesting a low-scent environment–please refrain from using scented body, hair, or laundry products prior to attending. Please note that we are one group of many who rents this studio and it is part of a shared office building with shared bathrooms; we are unfortunately unable to control the type of soap in the bathrooms and cleaning products used in the space.

Pictured emFATic DANCE, 2018
Photo by Lisa J. Ellis

Announcing Superfat and/or Disabled Shopper Early Entry Pilot Program

As Cupcakes and Muffintops has grown we know it is has become more difficult for our superfat shoppers and shoppers with certain disabilities to navigate the sale during peak hours. In an effort to help improve access for our superfat and/or disabled community members, we are running an early entry pilot program this year. Shoppers who are superfat (predominantly wear a size 4X/5X or larger) and/or those who are disabled are invited to come shop starting at 11am during the pre-sale for our volunteers. The sale will open for everyone else at noon, and we ask that if you are not superfat or disabled or an official volunteer that you please wait to come shop until doors open to the general public at noon.

See you at the sale on Saturday!