Anything else people need to add before we get started?

All right, so we're gonna do our classic name game.

What we're gonna do today is you're gonna say your name.

And we're gonna do a movement with it to kind of like symbolize that word.

And then we'll add them all together.

Sam, you're welcome to sit, or anyone who needs to sit is welcome.

Who wants to start?

(laughs) -I'll start.

-Okay.

Dani's gonna start.

Dancing Dani.

(both laughing) So, creative movement is an artistic expression that uses your body as your medium for communication.

(soft music) It's not your typical dance class.

We're not asking anybody to do choreography, or come up with any prescriptive movements.

We really are interested in asking people to tap into their imagination, and their emotions, and kind of express that with physical movement.

[Holly] Sam, what you got?

Sam, Sam, Sam.

[All] Sam, Sam, Sam.

Love it.

[All] Dancing Dani.

Joyful Jeremy.

Glenny Glen.

Sam, Sam, Sam.

Boom, Dynamite Dan.

[All] Boom, Dynamite Dan.

I love it.

I love it.

[All] Dancing Dani.

Joyful Jeremy.

Glenny Glen.

Sam, Sam, Sam.

Boom, Dynamite Dan.

InToto Creative Arts is a fairly new arts organization, here in Birmingham.

It was founded by Kyle Tyree, in 2020.

Our programming is for folks who are experiencing housing insecurity.

Many of 'em are living in shelters.

And they've experienced a great deal of trauma, and they're going through a really hard time in life.

I think self-worth is a really important part of this.

I want people to understand how important they are.

Because, I think when you are unhoused, you know, you're living in a system that tells you you don't matter.

So, just having an hour a week, I think, is so impactful to just offer who you are, and be celebrated by other people.

(soft music) Kyle was volunteering at Firehouse Shelter for Men.

And he had read the book, "The Body Keeps the Score," which talks about just how we hold trauma in our bodies, and how we process trauma.

And they had asked him if he was interested in doing some classes at Firehouse for the guests there.

He just had this idea of how important artistic expression and creativity were to healing, and processing trauma, and just any life experience.

So we have classes that focus more on poetry, and theater, and visual arts.

And then we also have the movement classes.

When we tried this as an experiment, we knew how important movement was in our own lives.

And it's just such a healing and important part of wellbeing, and physical and emotional health.

And so we just thought about combining like creativity with the physical activity of it, with the connection and community.

And it was kind of magic, what happened.

If we're in a space where we don't feel safe, or we're afraid, or we feel threatened, it's just really hard to be expressive.

And so I think that is very foundational.

It's just creating an environment where people feel supported, and people feel seen, and people feel like they are valued as equal humans.

Okay, I just wanna take a second to check in.

(Holly laughing) And I would love for people to share.

Learn from each other.

What did we see in other people, during that?

These classes are really impactful for the folks that we're serving because they're just a break from the madness for a little bit.

A break from just the grind of being in survival mode.

And just having an outlet where you can go, and you can feel heard, you can share your experiences.

It's so important to hold space for people to express what they're going through.

There's an energy that this class holds.

And I love it.

I love it.

Because I was off, really, when I was in here.

Because some people brought me some stuff that I didn't wanna deal with.

I think, for me, it's being free for the hour that I'm in here.

Just being free, not caring who thinks what, or doing away with the whole thought.

Purely.

We'll find, people say, I talked about things I've never talked about before today.

Or, I haven't laughed like this in so long.

They'll come in saying, oh, everything hurts.

And I, you know, just feel tight.

So a lot of times they say they feel more relaxed, or looser.

Their face is just totally changed.

They have a light in their eyes that wasn't there when we started.

And even if it isn't super long-lived, I think it's just introducing that possibility.

You know, like, it's possible to feel different, you know?

And there are people that care about you.

And connection is possible.

(soft music)