June 2024 Mn'sota DUP Tour

The Dances of Universal Peace are spreading around Mni'sota!

With gracious support from the MRAC's Arts Impact Fund, these activities are made possible by the voters of Minnesota through a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council, thanks to a legislative appropriation from the Arts and Cultural Heritage Fund.  

The Dances of Universal Peace are easy circle dances with singing. Everyone is taught call and echo.  Bring yourself and an openness to try something new with others!  Lead by Certified Dance Leaders: Conie Borchardt, Adam Wolter, and others.  Learn more about the Dances here.

Tour Dates

Sunday, June 2, 6:30-8:45 p.m.

Twin Cities Friends Meetinghouse

1725 Grand Ave, St. Paul (map)

Meetup | Facebook 

Friday, June 7, 7 p.m.

Svalja Yoga

N 1st Ave W, Duluth (map)

Register here

Meetup | Facebook 

Saturday, June 8, 7 p.m.

St. Mary's Episcopal Church

715 S. Central Ave, Ely (map)

Meetup | Facebook 

Sunday, Jun 9, 2 p.m.

St. Andrew's Lutheran Church

501 NW 16th St, Grand Rapids (map)

Meetup | Facebook 

Saturday, June 15, 2 p.m.

A Place to Move

714 Columbia Ave, Morris (map)

Meetup | Facebook 

Setlist from May 2 Retrain Your Lizard Brain

Here are the songs we sang at the very first Retrain Your Lizard Brain: Somatic Singing for Trauma Awareness + Resilience at Walker/New City Church on Thursday evening, May 2, 2024.  Enjoy the links to online recordings for your at-home remembering pleasure!  

• Neuroplasticity Song (Ahlay Blakely)
• The Center Will Hold (text: Brene Brown, from Atlas of the Heart; music: clb)
• Do You Feel? Do You Heal? (Lu Aya Nephew, The Peace Poets + Deirdre Shabaaz)
• The Cure for the Pain (text inspired by Rumi; tune: Yam)
• Grief is Coming (Aurora’s Song) (Liz Digitale Anderson)
• The Shame Song (Ahlay Blakely) 

* no online recording available. If you discover one, please let us know in the comments!

Here are some of the Resources we promised to share:

• About the Card Decks: Having a tangible tool to sit with and reflect our feelings back to us helps us slow down, process, and make space for emotional work and intentions we otherwise tend to ignore. In May we spread out the Rest Deck by Tricia Hersey and the Artist Grief Deck, made by hospice workers in the pandemic.
• Instruments we use: 
• CajonTab by Louson Drum - Conie has a 12" CajonTab; Liz has one of the Pro series. Get to know a bit of the cajon's musical history here. Use Liz's affiliate link to get 10% off!
• Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA.

Thank you to the crew who jumped in to retrain their lizard brain!  The right people were there, tenderness, grit, and support were shared. Community was tended. This is part of the world we're working towards!

Many thanks to Mni'sota Peacebuilding Leadership Institute for offering the amazing Strategies for Trauma Awareness & Resilience (STAR) training that Liz and Conie took in June 2023 and to being interested in partnering with us when we expressed interest in offering a hand-on offering.  Many thanks to Jean for their supporting hands-on support to bring this into being!  

We're planning to make this session monthly because the work of Trauma Awareness and Resiliency is long and slow!  The next Retrain Your Lizard Brain session will likely be Thursday, June 13, 2024; stay tuned for details on this blog as they unfold or sign up for the In-person Singing and/or the Good Trouble Songleaders newsletters

Keep singing and stay warm, hydrated and creative!

Love, Liz and Conie, a.k.a. Good Trouble

Setlist from April 28 edition of Tending Your Fire, Tending Your Heart

Dear Friends,

If you're reading this, you might have attended the Tending Your Fire, Tending Your Heart gathering on Sunday afternoon, April 28 in South Mpls.

We invited folks who have been carrying a load for their community, in a season of deep service, organizing, and/or mutual aid work to lay it all down for a weekend and receive some spaciousness and care.

Here is a list of the songs we sang over with links to online recordings.

• Am I Willing (Ahlay Blakely)
• Love from the Inside Out (Moon Clemetson)
• Armor (Ahlay Blakely)
• The Way Knows the Way (Lyndsey Scott) and the studio version
• Healing is Possible (Orion Johnstone)

Here's a list of Instruments: 

• 
  Shruti Box, literally "sound" or "singing" in ancient Sankrit, replicates the sound of the Tambura, an East Asian Indian drone instrument. Part of the family of drone instruments that show up in many cultures, related to bagpipes and harmoniums. Conie's instrument is from Shrutibox.com run by Ron Kravitz of https://www.musicinthemoment.com/ in Philadelphia, PA
• CajonTab by Louson Drum - Conie has a 12" CajonTab; Liz has one of the Pro series. Get to know a bit of the cajon's musical history here. Use Liz's affiliate link to get 10% off.

May all of these resources support you in your work and in your rest.

Liz and Conie, a.k.a. GOOD TROUBLE  

Upcoming Visiting Songleaders: Shireen *May 9-10* + Ahlay

We are so excited that two fantastic song leaders are traveling through the Twin Cities soon! Check out the details below and make plans to join us in singing with them.

Shireen Amini is in Minneapolis, May 9 & 10!  A fantastic musician, healer, song leader and incredible non-binary (pronouns: she/her/elle) human of Puerto Rican-Iranian heritage, Shireen Amini will be holding a Drum Song workshop on Thursday night and a Community Song Circle on Friday night.  Come for both if you can!  I had the opportunity to participate in her virtual Drum Song series and it was sooooo good online; this will be amazing! 

Drum Song Workshop with Shireen Amini

Thursday, May 9, 5:30-8 p.m.

Center for Performing Arts, 

38th & Pleasant, Mpls

Register here.

Community Song Circle with Shireen Amini

Friday, May 10, 6:30-9 p.m.
New City/Walker Church, 3104 16th Ave S, Minneapolis, MN 55407, USA
Register here.

Ahlay Blakely is back in town in July!  

Mark your calendar for July 22 & 23 and check back for more details as it gets closer!