Thursday, January 22, 2009

A Month of Charities: The Washington Ballet... plus, Inaugural reflections

Whew! Now that the Inauguration buzz is subsiding, I can get back to blogging and sharing some great charities with you for the rest of the month of January. I took part in all sorts of fun events, including an Inaugural concert at the 9:30 Club (featuring Sheryl Crow and the Beastie Boys!), trekking down to the National Mall to witness the main event (had Silver tickets and was DENIED! Secret Service shut down our area. But made up for it by witnessing the event w/ friends and thousands of others on Pennsylvania Avenue, about 3 blocks from the Capitol), checking out the Art of Change Inaugural Ball, etc, etc....

One of the highlights was taking part in a Move For Change yoga workshop the day before the Inauguration with the lovely yogini and activist Seane Corn. Unfortunately, Seane was under the weather and had to step out of her class - a great guy filled in for her. Then I took a wonderful makeup class w/ Seane on Wednesday, which was a fitting "bookend" to the whole Inaugural whirlwind - a great way to get centered after so much excitement and to focus on change, positivity, and unity (rather than the "us versus them" mentality that so much of the election period fostered).

The Move for Change workshops took place at The Washington Ballet. I practiced next to a fantastic yogi who could move and stretch like crazy. His practiced was so focused and so impressive - it's fun and inspiring to do yoga next to someone who can really rock it out like that. I didn't find out until class was over that I was practicing next to none other than Septime Webre, the celebrated Artistic Director of The Washington Ballet! So, to honor him, I am highlighting The Washington Ballet in this post. They have some great community programs, including movement and language arts programs for DC public school students. (plus, I hear that their galas and parties are the place to be!)

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