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The Boston Children’s Foundation (BCF), founded by Dr. Robert Macy and Dr. Dicki Johnson Macy, is committed to ending the trauma that perpetuates a culture of fear, maladaptation and violence by turning youth’s natural energy towards healing activities, social empathy and positive relationships.
For more information on BCF's programming and interventions, please click on the individual links: Rainbowdance, Community-Classroom-Culture Based Intervention (CBI), and The Art & Technique of Isadora Duncan.
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Dear community,
As we enter the chillier season, we find ourselves reflecting on all the wonders and growth of the past year. This time of year invites us to look inward, to explore the depth of our roots and the strength of our community. Grounded by these connections, we feel inspired to branch outward, traversing new paths while leaving behind seeds of hope and inspiration to foster and grow. Thank you for being an essential part of our journey thus far. We look forward to witnessing the beautiful transformations that lie ahead!
Your BCF family: Dicki, Ashlyn, Bella & Robert
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With great joy we spotlight Casara Nemes and Rachel Aylsworth, two vital forces in the life of BCF. Both have welcomed progeny into our community, bookending the month of September. | |
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Rachel, her husband Jason, & Baby Julian
Rachel joined us as a DMT Master’s candidate intern in 2015. As a staff clinician she danced up the ranks to become assistant director in 2018. She began her private practice, Creative Joy Counseling last year, and maintains a relationship with BCF as part of our performing dance company, The Guardians of Isadora. She and her husband Jason welcomed their son, Julian on September 30.
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Casara & Baby Alia
Casara was an intern at BCF from 2012-2013. Since 2013 she’s been at the Dimock Early Intervention program. She’s been the clinical manager there, and in addition to supervising staff, Casara provides counseling and DMT / Expressive Therapy services to children & families. She incorporates Rainbowdance and elements of the program into many of the therapeutic services she provides. Casara has attended many incredible BCF trainings over the years, and she and her husband Jonathan, are so grateful for their daughter Alia, to now also be a part of the BCF community! Alia was born on September 2, which was Labor Day!
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36th Annual Student Performance
Celebration of Dance and Community
June 2, 2024
The students in the Art and Technique of Isadora Duncan performed in June this year marking the 36th annual performance, choreographed and staged by director Dicki Johnson Macy. BCF Assistant directors Ashlyn O’Dowd and Bella Mazza assisted her in the teaching and the design of the program. The community of dancers ranges in ages from toddler to elder. Classes continue this fall with: Rainbowdance® Toddler and Preschool, Duncan for children ages 5-7 and 8-11, and a Teen Adult class.
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BCF Community Partner: Transitional Remedies Solutions Inc
Offering assistance to a vast majority of men and women who are transitioning into their respective communities.
Each of these individuals have experienced some level of emotional trauma and or Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). Clients come from different backgrounds and experiences. We have assisted individuals from the Department of Human Services, Department of Youth Services (DYS), the Massachusetts Department of Correction (DOC), divorce, the military, victims of violent crimes and/or witnesses of violent crimes, TRS Inc helps individuals cope with the stresses of daily life.
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BCF Community Partner: Imam Taymullah
Founder of Spentem: an educational program that uses restorative practices by pairing ex-convicted felons as educators for at-risk and court-involved youth.
Imam Taymullah began his career as a chaplain for the Massachusetts Department of Correction, where he spent a decade teaching and counseling system-affected Muslims. In addition, he was the first paid Muslim chaplain at Harvard University, where he taught Islamic Polity at the Divinity School and functioned as theological field education supervisor for graduate students. Recruited by city officials, Imam Taymullah served as educator liaison for New England high schools, where he instructed teachers in culturally responsive communication. He has taught various courses at Tufts University, Hellenic Holy Cross, and Northeastern University.
Viewing social justice advocacy as a religious obligation, Imam Taymullah has led successful community campaigns that included criminal justice reforms and housing renewal initiatives.
Imam Taymullah is currently a senior educator in Islamic and Interreligious Studies at Hebrew College. His interests include teaching Restorative Islamic Theology and advocating for prison abolition through holistic programming. He is the author of 44 Ways to Manhood and the memoir, American Imam.
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Basic Rainbowdance® Trainings | |
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Summer through Fall, the BCF team held three Basic Rainbowdance® trainings, credentialing a wide range of graduate students, clinicians, teachers, and interventionists. From Boston, MA to Clinton, IA to Springfield, MA, we welcomed 44 new members to our Rainbowdance® community!
Our next Basic Rainbowdance® training will take place this December 6-7! Email as at bostoncfinfo@gmail.com to register while spots are still available.
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Springfield, MA
September 2024
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Preschool Rainbowdance® Workshops | |
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Inspired Child
Washington, DC
August 2024
Dicki has, since 2017, been training, credentialing and endorsing Rainbowdance® practitioners, AKA teaching artists for a Washington DC based non-profit agency, Inspired Child. The mission of this agency , directed by Ingrid Zimmer, is to bring education through the arts to low income preschools and other daycare facilities.
This training is offered to credentialed Rainbowdance® practitioners and targets the building of healthy peer relationship through competency, control and caring. Dicki trained nine practitioners in this work. She also endorsed three credentialed practitioners to conduct orientation for staff and parents. It is so exciting to welcome the Inspired Child staff to our Rainbowdance® family.
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Boston, MA
April 2024
Bella and Ashlyn welcomed back our former Basic Rainbowdance® trainees for a
day-long workshop dedicated to deepening and expanding the Rainbowdance® model to include preschool adaptations and story dances. The group did a beautiful job of dancing through our stories and creating their own story dances before the day was done! We are so glad to see our community learning and growing to new heights!
Our next Rainbowdance® Preschool Workshop will take place this November 15! Email as at bostoncfinfo@gmail.com to register while spots are still available.
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The BCF team has been working alongside a number of organizations, including the
Haitian Mental Health Network, to bring Rainbowdance® to different sites throughout the city, utilizing a bilingual model of Rainbowdance® with Haitian migrant families. This work has brought the BCF team immense joy and a new perspective on the ways we can use Rainbowdance® to connect with families across languages and cultures. The children and families involved have brought their joy, curiosity, and openness to our groups and we cannot wait for more!
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Surrendering to the Arms of Mother
July 2024
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This year, Dicki offered her workshop: Surrendering to the Arms of Mother: Nature
Based Etudes from the Art and Technique of Isadora Duncan in July. This workshop has been successfully received since 2010. Dicki shaped this workshop differently this year as she honored two mothers to be, Rachel Aylsworth and Casara Nemes who were in attendance. New focus was placed upon the human mother and her relationship to the overriding mother, Nature.
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Rituals for Elder Empowerment
Coming to ADTA Chicago!
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Dicki has been invited to conduct a full day pre-conference workshop for the American Dance Therapy Association in Chicago this October 2024. This workshop, Rituals for Elder Empowerment: Jungian and Indigenous Wise Women Practices, has been previously and successfully offered, here in Massachusetts and in Maryland (for Word Dance Theater), four times. Dicki also presented a three-hour adapted program in Denver last year for the ADTA and for the National Women’s Studies Association. Conference in Baltimore. It appears that Baby Boomer Women are enthusiastic about having their voices heard!
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LGBTQ+ Series
Coming soon!
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Bella and Micah have been working hard over the summer season on further developing a curriculum for a workshop and series model of content geared towards the caregivers and essential adults of LGBTQ+ youth. The workshop and series entail a number of expressive and artistic prompts to bridge the gap in understanding the ways queerness can bring inherent joy into a family’s life as well as ways to explore conversations both with parental peers and the children we love and support. Bella and Micah look forward to offering the workshop to interested BCF community members as well as offering a series model to the families of North Shore Alliance for GLBTQ+ Youth (NAGLY) and potentially Boston Alliance for LGBTQ+ Youth (BAGLY). | |
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September 22, 2024
The BCF performance group, The Guardians of Isadora, was once again invited to perform at the Mystic River celebration at the Condon Hatch Shell in Medford. The group has been very popular with audiences and has continued to perform barefoot on the grass under varied weather conditions since 2016.
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The Art & Technique of Isadora Duncan classes continue at the
Dance Complex!
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Fall/Winter 2024-2025 Schedule
Rainbowdance® Ages 1.5-3 with caregiver
Tuesdays 10:30am-11:30am
Rainbowdance® Ages 3.5-5
Wednesdays 3:30pm-4:30pm
Duncan Dance Ages 5-7
*ONE SPOT LEFT*
Wednesdays 4:30pm-5:30pm
Duncan Dance Ages 8-11
Tuesdays 4:30pm-5:30pm
Duncan Dance Ages 12-Teen/Adult
Tuesdays 5:30pm-6:30pm
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At Boston Children's Foundation, all members of our team are dance/movement therapist interested in both group and individual work! Individual Therapeutic Sessions are available upon request, and may be conducted virtually or in-person on a case-by-case basis. These sessions can be tailored to your family’s needs and typically include aspects of the Rainbowdance group work BCF is known for! Please contact Dicki, Ashlyn, or Bella to learn more.
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Upcoming Trainings & Workshops | |
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Preschool Rainbowdance® Workshop
Workshop for Teachers, Clinicians, Social Workers, Childhood Educators & Caretakers
Student Discount Available! Contact us about LMHC CEUs.
Next Workshop: November 15, 2024
SPOTS ARE LIMITED - Please contact bostoncfinfo@gmail.com to register.
Click HERE for more info
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Animism:
Cultivating Empathy and the Shamanic for Clinicians, Dancers, and Caretakers
Offered by Dicki Johnson Macy, Ph.D., BC-DMT, LMHC
Contact us about LMHC CEUs.
Next Workshop: November 16, 2024
SPOTS ARE LIMITED - Please contact bostoncfinfo@gmail.com to register.
Click HERE for more info
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Basic Rainbowdance® Credentialing Training
Training for Teachers, Clinicians, Social Workers, Childhood Educators & Caretakers
Student Discount Available! Contact us about LMHC CEUs.
Next Training: December 6-7, 2024
SPOTS ARE LIMITED - Please contact bostoncfinfo@gmail.com to register.
Click HERE for more info
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Once a month, Bella and Ashlyn offer virtual sessions of Rainbowdance® supervision and connection with former trainees. As a special treat, we are pleased to invite our Basic Trainees to these supervision sessions as well! These sessions will count towards your hours to become eligible for Endorsed Practitioner status. Email us at bostoncfinfo@gmail.com for more information! | |
Endorsed Practitioner Group Forum | |
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We'd love to keep in touch with you, and hear about your Rainbowdance® adventures through the Rainbowdance Endorsed Practitioner Group Forum. This forum will be a wonderful way to stay connected, ask questions, and share news whether you are local or outside of the Boston area.
If you are an Endorsed Practitioner and would like access to the Forum please email us at bostoncfinfo@gmail.com
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Thank you for supporting our mission of protecting children, women and families as we work to create and sustain violence-free communities. We live in a time when now, more than ever, at-risk populations are in vital need of preventative and compassionate care. Every life-changing dollar you donate helps us keep children and their caretakers safe and thriving, even in the face of trauma and violence.
Make a secure donation through PayPal Giving Fund or by sending a check payable to Boston Children’s Foundation and mail to:
Boston Children’s Foundation
850 Summer Street, Suite 206
South Boston, MA 02127
Boston Children’s Foundation, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) organization. Gifts are tax deductible to the full extent allowable under IRS regulations.
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