Dancing for change

MULLUMBIMBY dance teacher Kimberley McIntyre is offering women the chance to learn the Bolero ahead of the V-Day Byron Bay event on February 14.

McIntyre has choreographed a routine for the Spanish dance to a four-minute track by Beninese-French singer-songwriter, actress and activist Angelique that is a succinct version of Ravel’s original Bolero.

Hundreds of women – and a few supportive men – are expected to dress in red and attend the event at Main Beach at dawn on Valentine’s Day.

It is part of the global movement 1 Billion Rising, which aims to end violence against women around the world.

The campaign, which launched on Valentine’s Day 2012, began as a call to action based on the statistic that one in three women on the planet will be beaten or raped during their lifetime.

With the world population at around seven billion, this adds up to more than one billion women and girls.

McIntyre is offering classes by donation at St Martin’s Church Hall in Mullumbimby on Saturday February 1 at 2pm, Wednesday February 5 at 10am and Saturday February 8 at 2pm.

She is also open to women organising private Bolero parties to learn the dance.

Another dance called Break the Chain is performed at the V-Day event, but the Bolero is a new addition.

“I feel that more than being a protest dance the Bolero lends itself to embodied female empowerment where you can cultivate your own courage and beauty,” McIntyre said.

“You really hold your ground and extend yourself in a really calm way.”

McIntyre also plans to perform the dance at Lismore Women’s Festival on International Women’s Day on March 8.

For more information, search ‘V-DAY Byron Bay’ on Facebook.