Happy Holidays from the Vanaver Caravan!
See our Holiday Video
As 2017 comes to an end, we, at The Vanaver Caravan, look towards the future with an intention to break down barriers between people which should never have existed in the first place.
We will do this the same way we have for the past 45 years: By celebrating, through dance and music, the humanity in everyone.
We invite you to celebrate with us this Holiday Season! Help us to bring the joy of celebration to a world that needs it today.
In other news...
SpringDance 2018 classes begin on January 8th. If you haven't registered, there are still spots available.
Back to India We Go!
Shakti Caravan, our partnership umbrella in India, is gearing up for another winter season of teaching, exchanging dances, and sharing our mission of peace and activism across the globe! Livia and Bill will be teaching at the Akiyam School in Auroville.
Wherever you are, Whatever you celebrate, Happy Holidays & Happy New Year!
Into the Light We Go!
Read more to check out our Holiday Sale, Spring Dance Registration offers, and Giving Note.
Holiday Show, Holiday Sale
SpringDance & Seasonal Giving!
Catch Our Holiday Show This Saturday!
We had a wonderful time at the Sinterklaas Festival this weekend, where we performed excerpts of our Holiday Show, Into the Light. Catch the full production this Saturday with Arm-of-the-Sea Theater and The Ellenville Library and Museum.
Saturday, December 9th at Ellenville High School / Doors open at 2:30pm. Performance from 3pm – 5pm / 28 Maple Ave, Ellenville, NY 12428, USA (map) / FREE (Donations welcome).
Holiday Sale
Deck yourself, your friends or your family in our American-made dance-ware! Cozy sweatshirts, soft t-shirts, tank-tops, and custom duffel bags. Buy CDs and DVDs of our award-winning folk music, or pick up your own copy of "Uncle Bill's Banjo Book"! Our Holiday Sale goes through December 25th.
Early Registration for SpringDance
Earlybird Discount Until Dec 15th << Use Coupons: "Earlybird" (for single registrants) & "Early_Sibling" (for siblings)
This Season, Give the Gift of Dance.
Why not give a gift with lasting impact this season? Create a Sustaining Membership in a loved one's name or gift yourself a Membership. All donations are tax deductible and make a big difference. Help us bring light into the dark this holiday. We can't do it without you.
Wishing You Happy Start to your Holidays Season!
Fall Fund Drive FAQ: How your donation makes an impact
The Vanaver Caravan is a small nonprofit, but we cast a very wide net. We put together this list to give you an idea...
Photo by Meredith Heuer
This November, we are proudly asking you, dear members of our Vanaver Caravan community, to give back by making a tax deductible contribution. Become one of The Vanaver Caravan's first ever monthly sustaining members by Giving Tuesday, November 28th.
What is a sustaining member?
Sustaining members contribute to The Vanaver Caravan on a recurring basis throughout the year. It is now easier than ever to set up recurring donations online on our website. All donations are tax deductible, and payments can be altered, paused, or stopped at any time.
How much should you give?
No amount is too small (or too large). Even something as small as $3, $5, or $10 a month makes an impact on the work we are able to do.
What does a membership or donation contribute to?
The Vanaver Caravan is a small nonprofit, but we cast a very wide net. We put together this list to give you an idea...
1. Performances & Touring
Our Touring Company rotates around a family of 30 world-renowned dancers and musicians who hail from all over the world. Your contribution helps pay for their travel expenses & rehearsals, so that we can bring YOU our state-of-art, high spirited performances.
2. Arts-in-Education
Our work in schools is the flagship of our Company. From Pre K-12 through college, we design interdisciplinary dance programs that enhance school curricula. We provide students with unmatched, unforgettable learning experiences. Your contribution goes towards developing curricula, building resources, and training new teaching artists.
3. Scholarship Funds
We give a handful of scholarships to young, talented, dancers who do not have the financial means to attend our programming. Help us build a more financially diverse student body within our Dance Institute.
4. Administration & Management
Working tirelessly behind the scenes, we have a stellar team of 6 employees who make sure that The Vanaver Caravan continues to grow, thrive, and sustain itself.
5. Peace Advocacy & Humanitarian Work
To be honest, this is not its own separate category. Peace and humanity is ingrained into our very mission. That being said, The Vanaver Caravan, and all associated members, are recognized Goodwill Ambassadors for the Friendship Ambassadors Foundation. In the past 5 years, we have attended annual summits at The United Nations Youth Delegates Assembly, worked with Syrian refugees in Greece with Translucent Borders.
6. Shakti Caravan, India
In 2012, we started an umbrella organization in Udaipur India (Shakti Caravan), which brings our programming to rural, urban, orphaned, and at-risk children & youths in India, and offers free self-defense courses for Indian girls and women. All of this work has been done on a voluntary basis and can only be sustained by donations from you.
What are you waiting for?
Why You Should Become A Sustaining Member
I was a 4-year-old when I began my education with The Vanaver Caravan. During Creative Movement class with Livia, I learned--in my whole body--about the growing cycle of plants, the changing of seasons, and how to understand and respect the feelings of my tiny peers. As we grew up, we learned...
Photo by Meredith Heuer.
The Real Impact Of A Caravan Education
I was 4-years-old when I began my education with The Vanaver Caravan. During Creative Movement class with Livia, I learned--in my whole body--about the growing cycle of plants, the changing of seasons, and how to understand and respect the feelings of my tiny peers. As we grew up, we learned pieces of history that do not get passed down in textbooks: stories that can only be told through movement and song. We learned to look with curiosity at customs that seemed different from our own. And, we learned to trust our bodies without shame.
I have continued to learn, love, and proudly pour my love back into this Company. But it is more than sheer sentimental attachment that brings me back, time-and-again, to the unique work and mission of The Vanaver Caravan. For years, I have watched this company strive to make a good and lasting impact on the world's communities.
Photo by Meredith Heuer.
Today, as our Fall fund drive begins, my goal is simple: by Giving Tuesday, November 28th, I want you to become one of the Monthly Sustaining Members of The Vanaver Caravan. If you are reading this, you are part of The Vanaver Caravan's global community and it is very likely that The Company made an impact on you, however small or large. We are asking you to do the same: to contribute and make an impact, however small or large.
Humor me for a moment. I'd like you to take a close look at our mission statement:
“Recognizing that the arts often communicate what words fail to express, the mission of The Vanaver Caravan is to inspire, through dance and music, the harmonious co-existence of world cultures and traditions, to promote peace and celebrate our humanity. We envision a world where people understand and respect one another – where our differences unite rather than divide us. ”
I speak for myself when I say this: we need this mission today more than we ever have before. The words above are not some lofty dream. Livia and Bill Vanaver have made it come to fruition with every song and dance that they have ever learned, performed, or passed on in their teachings--for almost 50 years.
I do not want my education and that of my peers to be some unique, unaccessible dream for other children. I want The Vanaver Caravan to have the means to share this work in schools, theaters, and festivals across the globe.
We need the children and adults of this world to learn to trust their bodies without shame, celebrate differences, and come to understand and respect the feelings of others. Imagine a world where all the grown-ups running things today had been given the opportunity to learn the values this company teaches. What a different world that would be, wouldn't it?
When you contribute to The Vanaver Caravan, you make possible the work we need to do--on a local, national, and international level--in order to fully realize this mission. Whether you give $3, $5, $10, $20 a month or make a one-time (tax deductible) donation, your part in this matters.
Take action. Give back to your global community. It means the world.
Photo by Meredith Heuer.
Fall Performance Previews
As the leaves change, The Vanaver Caravan is in a flurry of motion preparing for a full fall season of teaching, learning, and professional touring.
As the leaves change, The Vanaver Caravan is in a flurry of motion preparing for a full Fall season of teaching, learning, and professional touring.
THE COMPANY
The Company rehearsing to Pete Seeger's war protest song, "Big Muddy" from Turn Turn Turn. Image Copyright Lois Greenfield 2017.
The Company is preparing our newest production, Turn Turn Turn: Celebrating Pete Seeger in Dance & Music for a year of performances (keep your ears perked for tour dates!).
Looking to liven up up your Monday evening? Come see a short preview of the show.
What: THE NYS Presenters' Fall Arts Forum Performing Arts Showcase.
WHEN: This Monday Sept 25th - 7:30pm
WHERE: The Egg, Albany (1 Empire State Plaza, S Mall Arterial, Albany, NY 12203)
ADMISSION: FREE!
THE DANCE INSTITUTE:
Youth Company Graduates: Neve Parker & Alena Brocker, and dancer, Amelia Verderosa, perform "The Tarantella" at the Italian Festival. Kingston, NY, 2013.
FallDance classes are underway. This semester, Caravan Kids & Youth Company dancers are preparing new world dance repertoire for fall festivals and Holiday shows.
Catch the Caravan Kids in their first performance of the season!
WHAT: The Ulster County Italian American Foundation's Italian Festival
WHEN: Sunday Oct 8th, 11Am-7pm (Rain Or Shine)
Where: The Kingston Waterfront
ADmission: Free!
>>>Most classes are nearly full, but there is still one week left to register for FallDance.
Hey Community! We Thrive Because of You.
Make A One Time or Recurring Tax Deductible Donation Today!
