FOUNDER’S NOTE

My name is Valerie Chafograck. I am an Afro-Caribbean/mixed heritage, cisgender woman born in France. My love affair with dance and embodiment combined with my commitment to collective liberation fuel my radical imagination and creativity

Since 1992, I have danced, taught and trained in predominantly white spaces being the only woman of color, and experienced unconscious and structural bias. While this practice has brought me joy, cracked my heart wide open to love and connection, it has also illuminated the denial of racial injustices in the conscious dance world.

This experience combined with my skills and knowledge inspired me to create Movement Liberation. We are a California based healing justice non- profit organization born in 2019. Blending conscious dance, somatic and social justice perspectives, we curate workshops and retreats for People of Color and led by educators of color.

Some of the roles I play and hats I wear at Movement Liberation include founder and Executive Director, movement and embodiment facilitator, mentor and politicized healer.

Movement Liberation’s mission is to advance personal & collective transformation and liberation for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, People of Color) bodies and communities. We strive to cultivate an inclusive culture that broadens our offerings for all bodies, genders, ages, and sexual orientations.

Movement Liberation prioritizes financial accessibility and is proud to offer a sliding scale programming. We create movement spaces and practices, and mindfulness education in which People of Color can safely explore and heal their intergenerational trauma, reclaim parts of themselves that have been stripped, grieve and celebrate their racial identity, and regenerate their very roots.

Movement Liberation guides the way to a next step into racial equity paradigm, not just on the dance floor but in every aspect of operations and partnerships, including fundraising.

This movement centers embodiment and presence as ways to reawaken ourselves into the right relationship we are meant to have to our body, each other, divinity, and the planet.

This project is a true north star. 

With love,