{"id":454,"date":"2019-05-16T23:00:00","date_gmt":"2019-05-16T23:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/?p=454"},"modified":"2025-06-11T10:08:51","modified_gmt":"2025-06-11T10:08:51","slug":"how-one-teacher-uses-dance-to-combat-memorial-day-weekend-gun-violence-in-chicago","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/2019\/05\/16\/how-one-teacher-uses-dance-to-combat-memorial-day-weekend-gun-violence-in-chicago\/","title":{"rendered":"How One Teacher Uses Dance to Combat Memorial Day Weekend Gun Violence in Chicago"},"content":{"rendered":"

\n\tMemorial Day is notoriously one of Chicago\u2019s bloodiest weekends. Last year, 36 people were shot<\/a> and seven died that weekend. In 2017 and 2016, the number of shootings was even higher.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen Garley \u201cGiGi Tony\u00e9\u201d Briggs, a dance teacher and Chicago native, started noticing this pattern, she was preparing her second annual Memorial Day workshop for local youth.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe event\u2019s original aim was simple: \u201cI wanted the youth of Chicago to have somewhere they could come and learn from different dancers and be off the streets on the South Side on this hot holiday,\u201d she says.\n<\/p>\n

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\n\t\tBut hearing about last year\u2019s March for Our Lives in Washington, DC, made her want to do something more.\n\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\u201cI was so inspired by how the high schoolers took initiative and created this awesome movement to address the gun violence<\/a> happening in schools,\u201d she says.\n\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\tSo Briggs, who also has a master\u2019s in health care administration, decided to refocus her workshop. Now called #Dance4OurLives<\/a>, the expanded weekend of classes for dancers of all levels explores how movement can be used to address Chicago\u2019s gun violence.\n\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\t\t\t GiGi Tonye\u2019 \ud83d\udc9c on Instagram: \u201cREGISTRATION IS NOW OPEN!!! ALL AGES!!! LINK IN BIO What Happens When Dancers Unite For A Cause??? Our Belief\ud83d\udcaa We believe that\u2026\u201d<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/blockquote>\n<\/div>\n

\n\t\tThis weekend, her third annual workshop is being held May 18\u201319, as a precursor to Memorial Day weekend at the Breakthrough FamilyPlex on Chicago\u2019s West Side. Free, unlimited classes<\/a> for kids and teens include ballet, modern, jazz, hip hop, liturgical, Latin and African. (A special class, called Fit2Move, will also be offered for children with disabilities, as well as a track for adults at $5 per class or $15 per day.)\n\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\tBriggs recruited teachers from all corners of Chicago\u2019s dance community, from Deeply Rooted Dance Theater\u2019s Dominique Atwood to former Chicago Bulls\u2019 Luvabulls choreographer Kim Tyler.\n\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\u201cThat was another goal: to really work on uniting our dance community to do our part in addressing this issue and trying to provide a change. Even though the number of shootings may drop a little bit, the issue is still there.\u201d\n\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\t\tA group of 2018 #Dance4OurLives teachers and students
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Courtesy #Dance4OurLives\n<\/p>\n

\n\tInstructors will address gun violence in small groups throughout technique classes, and special sessions will dig deeper.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cDance Is Healing\u201d workshop, for example, will be taught by an art and dance\/movement therapist, who will use conflict resolution and examine how youth can use movement to \u201chelp ground themselves, as well as their interactions with other people,\u201d says Briggs.\n<\/p>\n

\n\tThe \u201cMen in Dance\u201d session will address stereotypes and encourage men to embrace dynamics spanning from sharp hip hop to graceful contemporary dance. \u201cThey\u2019ll explore those different facets and talk about how it\u2019s okay to want to be a dancer or be more creative.\u201d\n<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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\n\t\tBriggs notes one student in particular that #Dance4OurLives has had a huge impact on: A young man who attended as a beginner the first year. This fall, he\u2019ll head off to college as a dance major. \u201cThat has been one of the big testimonials of what originally started off as a way to give youth something fun and creative to do\u2014to actually see that it helped transform his life.\u201d\n\t\t<\/p>\n

\n\t\t\t\u201cI know the track record of dance and what it can do for individuals,\u201d she says. \u201cIf we bring dance to those who may have never been exposed to it, or don\u2019t have the resources to continue on with it, it can bring forth change. I do believe it\u2019s a tool\u2014and a part of the solution in our city.\u201d\n\t\t<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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The post How One Teacher Uses Dance to Combat Memorial Day Weekend Gun Violence in Chicago<\/a> appeared first on Dance Magazine<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Memorial Day is notoriously one of Chicago\u2019s bloodiest weekends. Last year, 36 people were shot and seven died that weekend. In 2017 and 2016, the number of shootings was even higher. When Garley \u201cGiGi Tony\u00e9\u201d Briggs, a dance teacher and Chicago native, started noticing this pattern, she was preparing her second annual Memorial Day workshop […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":311,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[14],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=454"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":455,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/454\/revisions\/455"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/311"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=454"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=454"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/supplychainstrategynow.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=454"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}