The National Hand Dance Association is sponsoring its 2nd Youth and Young Adult Hand Dance Symposium on Saturday, October 29, 2016, 9:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. at the R.I.S.E. Demonstration Center, 2730 Martin Luther King Jr. Avenue, SE, Washington, DC. The event is FREE and opened to youth and young adults from ages 10 years old to 25 years old. Priority registration will be given to youth residents of Ward 7 and Ward 8. These are neighborhoods that need positive activities for its underserved youth and for youth who may not have access to the arts.

This symposium gives voice to the young generation of hand dancers who are making this 60 year old social dance tradition, their own. Hand Dance is a contemporary swing style partner dance and is the Official Dance of the District of Columbia by Resolution of the DC Council.

The Youth and Young Adult Hand Dance Symposium will host a number of workshops in introducing young people to hand dance and support the growth of those who hand dance. It is important to continue the legacy of Hand Dance by cultivating a new generation of young dancers. One day workshops will include hand dance classes for the youth and their parents, a workshop in dance floor etiquette as the dance encourages positive social growth and development, a hand dance music appreciation workshop, a group discussion forum on the opinions of this new generation.

Our newest workshop will be a workshop "So You Want To Be A DJ?" Our goal is to cultivate a new and younger generation of hand dance DJs, as the current hand dance DJs are older and out of tune with the new and contemporary music that young hand dancers prefer. This hands on workshop will be open young people ages 16-25.

The workshop will be taught by 2 seasoned hand dance DJs as instructors for the topics 1) Introduction to DJ gear and equipment, 2) Understanding Hand Dance music (R&B, Pop, Caribbean, International, Country, Techno-pop, etc) and 3) playing for a hand dance social event