The centerpiece of Community Action is a robust program of movement workshops that addresses trauma, launched in 2000 in partnership with Sanctuary for Families. The program has since expanded to include Safe Horizon, Barrier Free Living, Sakhi, Community Health Action of Staten Island among many other New York City organizations. Community Action offers free workshops annually to individuals and families who are on journeys to healthier futures.

The central dynamic of an abusive relationship is one person having power and control over someone else. A collaborative workshop environment, paired with our four-part program model, encourages choice, self-expression, trust-building, and sharing.

Gibney Company members receive specialized training in order to design and facilitate workshops that draw from their artistic practices and address the needs of survivors.

The workshop format is consistent but flexible enough for the dancers to bring their own personalities, areas of expertise, and creativity to the work. Workshops are tailored to the unique needs of each shelter.

Offered during support groups under the supervision of a social worker, workshops underscore clinical themes, address group dynamics, and explore common issues. Ultimately, Community Action workshops offer tools that are applicable to a person’s everyday life.

If you or someone you know needs help, please call the NYC Safe Horizon hotline at 1–800-621–HOPE (4673) or the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1−800−799−SAFE (7233). Both hotlines operate 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

Four Part Model

Our workshops follow a unique four-part progression that reflects the Company’s artistic process:

1. Look Inside: Reflect. Movement and creativity foster reflection and self-awareness that lead to greater self-confidence.

2. Speak Through Movement: Express. Movement and creativity encourage choice and decision-making. These activities help participants listen to their inner voices, express their feelings, and assert their identities.

3. Work Together: Collaborate. Moving and creating in a group is an enriching experience with valuable social and artistic rewards. Working together validates the experiences of every member of the group and helps to banish feelings of isolation and fear.

4. Take Care™: Dancers share state-of-the-art tools for stress reduction and self-care drawn from extensive training in dance, bodywork, and somatic practices.

Results

96% of clients reported the workshop helped them relieve stress.

96% of clients reported that the workshop improved their physical health and well-being.

100% of clients reported that they would like to participate in another workshop.

The most common emotion reported before the workshop started was ‘sleepy’, followed by ‘nervous’. After the workshop the most common emotions were ‘confident’ and ‘creative’, followed by ‘strong’.

Appropriate for grades 3-12, the Workshop Series addresses the socio-emotional health of young people, tailored to their age group. Choreographed dances combined with conversation, resource sharing, and participatory opportunities create a well-rounded educational experience that includes:

• Space to discuss healthy and unhealthy relationships while considering the negative impact from COVID-19 on young people’s socio-emotional well-being
• Pre-recorded dances to start conversations around complex issues that affect young people everyday 
• Best practices on how to support a friend
• Interactive self-care exercises that promote mindfulness
• Resources for young people to seek help and support

Offered in a series of 3, 5, or 9 workshops, each workshop will use choreographed dances as a jumping off point to engage young people in conversations around healthy relationship characteristics, respect, equity, and more. As students are offered the space to consider and express what these concepts mean to them and what they want their own relationships to look like, the conversations will be supported and deepened by a variety of interactive embodied activities, which allow students to physically explore the concepts—alone and with one another.

Domestic Violence Awareness Month

Domestic Violence Awareness Month in October is an internationally recognized time to spread knowledge about the issue of domestic violence and support survivors on their journeys towards healthier futures.

Sexual Assault Awareness Month

Join Gibney each April for its observance of Sexual Assault Awareness Month, including participation in Denim Day, a public response to an Italian Supreme Court ruling, which overturned a rape conviction because the victim was wearing tight jeans.