Dance Locally, Act Globally

World Dance is a low-cost exercise class that brings together the best of world dance and music to strengthen your body and delight your senses. But it is much more than that. It is a growing community of women who come together to relax, enjoy, celebrate, and, at the same time, bring assistance to communities around the world struggling to survive. The 2012 World Dance donated $50,000 to grassroots projects in Nepal, Uganda, Ghana, Liberia, Rwanda, and Sarah House in Santa Barbara.

SEE WHAT WORLD DANCE IS ALL ABOUT IN OUR VIDEO BY VICTORIA LINSSEN:

Meet Instructor Janet Reineck

Janet brings her extensive background in ethnic dance and her work in humanitarian aid together to create the World Dance experience. As a child Janet studied ballet, performing with the New York City ballet at 12. As a young adult she studied modern dance with Virginia Story Crawford and ballet with Don Hewitt in Los Angeles. She started ethnic dancing in college, performing in Hungarian, Polish and English Country Dance ensembles. She studied, performed and taught Balkan dance in Europe during the 1970s. As a member of the Los Angeles-based Aman International Dance touring company, Janet performed the dances of the Middle East, Africa and Central Asia.

Janet earned a BA in Ethnic Arts and Master’s degree in Dance Ethnology from UCLA, and a PhD in Anthropology from UC Berkeley. She lived in Kosovo (former Yugoslavia) for eight years, first as a researcher, then as the director of rural development projects for Oxfam, International Rescue Committee and George Soros’ Open Society Institute. Returning to Santa Barbara in 1997, Janet became a professional fundraiser, directing development efforts for local charities. Her goal in creating World Dance Workout is to share the joy of international music and dance while serving people in need.

Click here to see World Dance practice videos

World Dance “Showcase” sampler:

World Dance Practice Video