Seventh Annual Fringe Benefit jingles cash for The Partnership
This Saturday, Nov. 7, the Mirabai Bellydance troupe of Movement Arts Collective Studio will be very proud to present the seventh annual Fringe Benefit: Empowering Women Through Dance. The event, originally orchestrated by Mirabai founder Miranda Cagle, was conceived as a means of showcasing Chattanooga’s phenomenal local talent while generating much -eeded funds for women’s charities.
According to Mirabai materials, “Bellydance is such an empowering form of dance and expression. It gives so many women the freedom to love their bodies, find community with one another, and walk with pride and ownership of themselves. We created this event to try to share and nurture those feelings to offer the identity, strength, and grace we find in this dance to help heal women who are struggling in our area and hopefully help them rediscover and embrace their own power.”
In addition to local dancers, each event features a special guest artist. This year’s guest artist will be the renowned Donna Mejia from the University of Colorado at Boulder. As a choreographer, teacher and performer, her career has been one of great distinction, including numerous awards, honors, grants, commendations, residencies and performances for such dignitaries as President Bill Clinton and Nobel Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu.
Well-versed in contemporary dance, African and Arab diaspora and various fusion traditions, Mejia is the only tenure track professor in the country teaching transnational fusion dance at the university level. She is highly sought after as a consultant, choreographer and writer.
All proceeds from the event are being donated directly to The Partnership for Children, Families and Adults to support their Family Violence Center and Rape Crisis Center. In operation in one form or other for 136 years, the Partnership has been recognized by the Chattanooga Area Chamber of Commerce as a Nonprofit Organization of the Year for its outstanding achievements in nonprofit management and community impact.
The Partnership serves over 11,000 victims of domestic violence per year, providing housing, case management, counseling, job and educational placement and court liaisons.
A number of corporate sponsors have stepped up to help make Fringe Benefit possible this year including Movement Arts Collective, The Meeting House, Tennessee Valley Chiropractic, KC Motor Company, Wizard Electric, Sterchi Construction and Mad Pixel Studios.
The Mirabai Bellydance troupe was founded in 2008 by local dancers and is based out of the Movement Arts Collective. Members teach bellydance and yoga throughout the Chattanooga area and remain dedicated to pursuing and sharing the spirituality, power and strength of the arts while simultaneously serving various women’s outreach and educational programs in the community.
Doors open at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at The Meeting House, 3912 Dayton Blvd. with performances scheduled to start at 8 p.m. Advance tickets for adults (available at movementartscollective.com) are $12, $15 at the door. Children 10 and under are admitted free.