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WHAT WE DO

​Syzygy Dance Project (SDP) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization that transforms lives through dance. We offer regular outreach classes for inmates, veterans, recovering addicts, chronic illness patients, and the elderly. In addition to our outreach work, SDP founder Sylvie Minot also offers programs to the public, including our weekly 5Rhythms Journey Beyond class, Medicine Circle workshops, Outreach Facilitator Trainings, Leadership in Motion programs, and many other workshops at various venues. Our public programs help raise awareness and funds for our outreach work.

Our Approach

​SDP classes offer a bodily sense of freedom and help participants cultivate an internal sense of empowerment as creative agents of their own lives. The body holds stories, emotions and tensions – far more than we are aware of. When we move together, we identify the patterns in our bodies that block us. Our classes do not teach specific dance forms or steps—instead experienced dancers, teachers, and somatic practitioners lead participants through creative movement exercises that expand participants’ capacity to track and explore bodily sensation, emotion, and thought.

Skills cultivated on the dance floor can be taken into our everyday lives. While dancing, participants experience moving freely in their bodies and connecting to others. As a result, they feel less stressed, greater physical well-being, more able to accept and express emotions, increased self-esteem, and greater connection to self, others and community. These benefits support participants in dealing more effectively with challenging life situations and making better choices.

Outreach Programs

We provide movement classes to underserved populations in the San Francisco Bay Area grappling with serious life challenges, e.g. addiction, incarceration, homelessness, aging, PTSD and other chronic health issues. Our approach offers a way of moving with and through difficult physical and emotional challenges using dance and music as the guide. Over the past 9 years, we've offered over 2,700 classes for nearly 5,500 people. We currently offer ongoing classes for inmates, veterans, women in recovery, chronic illness patients, and the elderly. 
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We’ve seen time and time again the physical and mental health benefits of our work, and we also witness how it can bridge communities. Our work in facilitating self-care and fostering connection between people from different communities is deeply needed, especially at this moment in time. Please watch our video below or visit the program-specific pages (linked above) to learn more. We hope you will consider showing your support.

Click here to see a full list of the facilities we have served thus far!
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