{"id":7055127,"date":"2026-09-02T22:09:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-02T22:09:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/peraltafinancing.com\/activist\/kindness-activist-the-kindness-dance\/"},"modified":"2026-09-02T22:09:11","modified_gmt":"2026-09-02T22:09:11","slug":"kindness-activist-the-kindness-dance","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/fivemor.com\/?p=7055127","title":{"rendered":"Kindness Activist: The Kindness Dance"},"content":{"rendered":"


\n<\/p>\n

\n

Thanks to my friend Ixel,
\na flop became a hit.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>And I am ever so
\nhappy and proud.<\/span><\/p>\n

Last summer, I had the
\nidea to recreate something fun that we did during Covid.\u00a0 <\/span>David and I would choreograph a dance, film
\nus doing it (with instructions), post it to our neighborhood Facebook page, and
\nneighbors would film themselves doing it.\u00a0
\n<\/span>They would then send their videos to me and I would edit them all
\ntogether into one fun video.\u00a0 <\/span>It was so
\ncool when we did it during Covid, I figured it was time to do it again!<\/span><\/p>\n

Only, no one else figured
\nit was time.<\/span><\/p>\n

It flopped.\u00a0 <\/span>The only people who filmed themselves doing
\nit were David and me (on the beach even!), and young friends Ixel and John (aka
\nBaby John).\u00a0 <\/span>Baby John was really into
\nthe Charleston part, and Ixel was a specialist at the freestyle part (no choreography
\nneeded, the \u201cdo your own thing\u201d part).\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

But I figured I couldn\u2019t make
\na video with just US and our 2 friends, so I dropped the whole idea.\u00a0 <\/span>It was, as they say, a kindness flop.\u00a0 <\/span>I was disappointed, but oh well.\u00a0 <\/span>Not all ideas work out.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fast forward about 5
\nmonths\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

Ixel mentioned \u201cThe
\nKindness Dance\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n

I honestly didn\u2019t know
\nwhat she was talking about.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>Kindness Dance???<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>New to me.<\/span><\/p>\n

Only, it wasn\u2019t new.\u00a0 <\/span>It was the dance from the summer, and in her<\/u>
\nmind, it was called The Kindness Dance.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

And she became fixated on
\nit.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

She practiced her
\nfreestyle parts daily.<\/span><\/p>\n

She made costumes.<\/span><\/p>\n

She had a whole story line
\nin her head.<\/span><\/p>\n

And, one day, she
\nproclaimed it was TIME to perform!\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cWhen is the Kindness
\nDance???\u201d she asked me (a question I think she had been badgering her mom with
\nquite a lot).<\/span><\/p>\n

Well, ummm, I hadn\u2019t thought
\nof actually performing<\/i> it.\u00a0 <\/span>I mean,
\nit was supposed to just be a fun video thing\u2026\u00a0
\n<\/span>But to actually perform it??<\/span><\/p>\n

But Ixel would not take no
\nfor an answer.\u00a0 <\/span>She had plans<\/u>.\u00a0 <\/span>In her mind, it was all ready for an
\naudience!!<\/span><\/p>\n

Only, we had no space\u2026\u00a0 <\/span>And it is far too cold to do it outside\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

She even picked a
\nDATE!\u00a0 <\/span>Like, the girl was ready<\/i>,
\nand the whole back-end actual PLANNING and logistics hadn\u2019t happened.<\/span><\/p>\n

But the more her mom and I
\nthought about it, the more we knew \u2013 the Kindness Dance was going to be a real
\nlive thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

We booked a room at the local
\ncommunity center.\u00a0 <\/span>Ixel had told us she
\nwould need 3 hours to get ready, you know, what with make-up and costumes\u2026\u00a0 <\/span>But the adults figured 2.5 hours total should
\ndo it.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Ixel made a poster.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Kindness Activist was a co-sponsor, along with “Ixel’s Ballet Studio”<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

She made a list of
\ncharacters.<\/span><\/p>\n

She made headpieces for many
\nof the performers.<\/span><\/p>\n

And she made AN ENTIRE
\nOUTFIT<\/b>!\u00a0 <\/span>Everything!\u00a0 <\/span>She made a leotard, a skirt, and a headpiece!\u00a0 <\/span>And folks, this was costume number TWO<\/i>!\u00a0 <\/span>Yes, she had a costume change<\/u> mid-song!\u00a0 <\/span>While us background dancers were grooving
\naway, she ran to the side and pulled off costume number one, with the big
\nreveal of costume number two!!!!\u00a0 <\/span>This
\ngirl was on fire!!<\/span><\/p>\n

Tonight was the
\nnight.\u00a0 <\/span>She told me a couple of weeks ago
\nthat there would be \u201clots of people there to watch\u201d, so I confess I was a bit
\nnervous thinking that there might be more dancers on \u201cstage\u201d than there were
\nbutts in seats.\u00a0 <\/span>But I was wrong!\u00a0 <\/span>26 people (special invitation only) came out
\non this cold night to watch us (well, mostly to watch Ixel) dance to Bruno Mars
\nsinging \u201cUptown Funk\u201d while disco lights shone.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Cast list (as you can see, David played the role of David)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Ixel wrote her own intro
\nand delivered it with a microphone.<\/span><\/p>\n

John, playing the role of
\nthe Crystal King, decided at the last minute that he would sit out (he
\ncomplained that his crown was hurting his head, not sure if that was an excuse
\nor not).\u00a0 <\/span>He sat down on stage as we
\ndanced, then ran around a bit <\/span>\ud83d\ude0a<\/span> .\u00a0 <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
“Baby” John in crown handmade by his big sister<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And Ixel.\u00a0 <\/span>Ixel was so happy. And so proud.\u00a0 <\/span>To see her shine like that \u2013 spinning and spinning
\nand spinning.\u00a0 <\/span>It was beautiful (and not just
\nthe dancing, her heart was beautiful as well).\u00a0
\n<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Pre-show spinning<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

And her friends there
\nsupporting her \u2013 so sweet.\u00a0 <\/span>When the
\nofficial performance was finished the dance floor opened up to all guests, and
\nwe rocked out.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Post-show dancing (costume number 3)<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Tonight was a good lesson
\nfor me.\u00a0 <\/span>Sometimes even flops can turn
\ninto something special.\u00a0 <\/span>No, there was
\nnot a neighborhood video this time.\u00a0 <\/span>But the
\ncommunity came out, and the result was 100 times more special than planned.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
The cast.\u00a0 Crystal King minus his crown, Ixel in costume number 3, and me in costume number 2<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ixi as Sunshine<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n
<\/a><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Susan as Flower and David as, well, as David<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

Oh, and hey.<\/span>\u00a0 <\/span>As we were leaving tonight Ixel announced that
\nthe Kindness Dance is going to be an annual thing.<\/span><\/p>\n

And you know, when Ixel
\nsays something, that girl makes it happen.<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

<\/span><\/p>\n

See you on the dance floor
\nnext year.<\/span><\/p>\n

And now for your viewing pleasure, may I present, Ixel, starring in the Kindness Dance (not the whole dance)!<\/span><\/p>\n