Move To Heal: Celebrating Community Through Movement

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We're honored to share some wonderful news about upcoming opportunities for Move To Heal Dance Collective to connect with our community through the power of movement and performance.

Sioux Falls Stage Awards – July 17th

Move To Heal Dance Collective has been invited to perform as the official musical guests at the 2024-25 Sioux Falls Stage Awards on July 17th at the Washington Pavilion. We’re honored to be part of this celebration of our local performing arts community and to share how dance and movement can be powerful tools for healing and connection.

Founded by Sydney Bartunek, Move To Heal South Dakota creates opportunities for people to experience wellness through dance, yoga, and performing arts. We’re grateful for the chance to represent this work at the Stage Awards and showcase the meaningful role that movement plays in our community’s health and wellbeing.

This recognition feels especially meaningful as it highlights the intersection between artistic excellence and community wellness – two values that are at the heart of everything we do at The Compass Center and through Move To Heal programming.

The Levitt Concert Series – August 8th

The summer of performances continues as Move To Heal takes the stage as an opening act at The Levitt on August 7th at 6pm, performing alongside Fine Mess Band. This outdoor concert setting provides a beautiful opportunity to bring movement and wellness to a broader community audience in a relaxed, accessible environment.

There’s something special about performing outdoors, where the boundaries between performer and audience feel more fluid, and the healing power of movement can ripple through the crowd in organic ways. We’re looking forward to sharing this experience with concert-goers who may be encountering Move To Heal for the first time.

Blink…Breathe…Bloom – October 2-3

This fall, the Move To Heal community will be part of something truly special. “Blink…Breathe…Bloom,” a dance theatre production by Conlin Choreography, will take place October 2-3 at the Belbas Theater in the Washington Pavilion. This original production brings together performers of all ages in an evening celebrating resilience, healing, and the power of human connection.

What makes this production particularly meaningful is that 100% of ticket proceeds will directly support Move To Heal programs at The Compass Center. It’s a beautiful example of how the arts can serve both as creative expression and community service – healing happens on stage through the performances, and healing happens in our community through the programs these funds will support.

The production features original choreography exploring themes of growth, transformation, and the journey from surviving to thriving. These are the very themes that guide our Move To Heal programming, making this collaboration feel like a natural extension of the work we do every day.

The Healing Power of Community Performance

Each of these performance opportunities represents something deeper than entertainment – they’re chances to demonstrate how movement can be medicine, how art can be therapy, and how community connection can be transformational.

When Move To Heal performs, we’re not just showcasing dance or movement techniques. We’re modeling what it looks like when people come together to support each other’s healing, when creativity becomes a tool for wellness, and when the arts serve as a bridge between individual growth and community connection.

For those who participate in Move To Heal programming, seeing their community celebrated on these stages reinforces that their healing journey is valued and supported. For audience members who may be struggling with their own challenges, these performances offer hope and demonstrate that healing is possible, beautiful, and worthy of celebration.

Supporting the Mission

Whether you join us at the Sioux Falls Stage Awards, The Levitt concert, or Blink…Breathe…Bloom, your presence helps strengthen the message that wellness and the arts are essential parts of a thriving community.

For the October production specifically, purchasing a ticket means directly investing in trauma-informed movement programming, expressive arts opportunities, and therapeutic services that help community members on their healing journeys.

Looking Ahead

These performances represent just a snapshot of the ways Move To Heal continues to grow and evolve as a program. Each opportunity to share our work with the broader community helps us reach new people who might benefit from movement-based wellness programming, while also celebrating the incredible progress of current participants.

We’re grateful to The Compass Center for supporting this innovative programming and to our community partners like Sioux Falls Stage, The Levitt, and Conlin Choreography for creating platforms where healing and artistry can intersect.

We hope to see you at one or all of these upcoming performances. Come experience firsthand how movement can be both beautiful and healing, how performance can build community, and how the arts can serve as a powerful force for wellness in our lives.

For more information about Move To Heal programming or to learn about getting involved, contact Sydney at sydney@thecompasscenter.org. Tickets for the Sioux Falls Stage Awards are available at Awards — Sioux Falls Stage & Gallery. Blink…Breathe…Bloom tickets go on sale on August 4th on Washington Pavilion Sioux Falls | Art and Science Center.