It occurred to me that, while I've still been working on re-envisioning the Life in 11 Dimensions project in a post-pandemic community/world, I haven't posted anything or updated the community on what's been happening. I guess it's fair to say that I've been focused on running the Dance Workshop and the Dance Theatre which, despite the interesting challenges of the last three years, have continued to be active in the community and continue to grow. (Thanks, in great part, to ongoing support from our community!)
What follows are two versions. The first is for those of you who don't really want a lot of detail. The second version is for those who do like detail.
Version 1: The pandemic stopped us before we could break ground, which ended up being a good thing. The Dance Workshop & Dance Theatre survived which were both good things. I've been successfully using the Dance Workshop space to fulfill as much of the 11D mission as possible, which is a good thing. I've met several very interesting people over the last three months who have missions that are very much in alignment with the 11D project, which is a good thing. Future meetings are planned which is an excellent thing.
Version 2:
Right before the pandemic began (January 2020) and we were finalizing financing before breaking ground, the construction costs came back with a steep increase from the earlier estimates due to the fire devastation of the summer of 2019. I found myself needing to find additional funding to cover the gap between what I could qualify for and what the construction would now cost and had initiated discussions with potential community sponsors to come in as partners.
The pandemic stopped the 11D project in its tracks and that was actually good since, while businesses were closing down and there was no clear sense of how or when life would return to normal, there would have been no income to pay for the construction fees or the interest that would have kept growing on the construction loan.
Fast forward to September of 2022, as the Dance Workshop was navigating our return to whatever the new normal was going to be. I decided to give myself two years to figure out what would happen with the 11D project. Personally, I felt the work in Creativity, Education, Wellness, Community, and Relaxation, was needed more than ever in a culture that was increasingly fragmented and where people of all ages felt isolated and disconnected.
I decided to focus on using the Dance Workshop space more fully and to begin implementing part of the 11D mission in that space, starting with using the space for multiple art forms.
To date, we've been able to return to being a space for Zentangle classes (a meditative drawing technique that creates beautiful art), Music Together of Davis classes (music education for children ages 0 - 5 and their families), a rehearsal space for Davis Red Maple Cultural Connection, a performance space for Davis Shakespeare Ensemble and the Davis Ballet Company from UC Davis.
We've also returned to hosting Second Friday events that are open to everyone and are usually multi-media events with performances, local artists displaying their work, and art activities for all ages. We've taken over the Dance for Parkinson's classes in Davis and Sacramento (originally coordinated and funded by the Mondavi Arts Center) that provide free classes for people with Parkinson's and their caregivers, and added two more weekly Second Wind classes (which are free for adults 65 and older, many of whom are on fixed incomes). Also, the Dance Theatre has begun a dance scholarship program.
Most exciting to me is that several months ago I was contacted by a woman who was very interested in building community and had heard about the project from her mentor, someone that I think of as a Community-Connector. That meeting, in turn, led me to yet another meeting with a focus on wellness, which in turn, led to another meeting with Elissa Kennedy (DAWN - Davis Area Women's Network)... It was exciting as there was a LOT of synchronicity between her vision and the Life in 11Dimensions project.
All of which is to say - There is movement and and future meetings are planned... and I will continue to update both here and on the Facebook page.