2024 Dance & Safety Series For Teens & Kids
This Series Has Been Generously Supported By
About Our Annual Youth Dance and Safety Event
In 2026, as Toronto celebrates the FIFA World Cup soccer games downtown, our series will make sure youth living in surrounding communities are not left out using the arts and street safety. By integrating crafts (soccer ball art designing), world dances (to represent those participating in FIFA), and street safety (situational awareness and self-defense skills), we will get 150 youth across 4 NIAs.
This year’s curriculum will be split into a 2-part series, a Summer world cup series (June to August) and a Halloween kids (September to October).
The goal of our series is to get more youth who live in NIAS and areas with high gun violence rates to move more and feel safe as they walk around their neighborhoods. To achieve this, sessions include fun dance energizers to help the youth warm up to each other and beginner street safety lessons. Our sessions are always beginner-friendly and adapted to meet the group’s needs. Since 2019, the series has impacted the everyday lives of over 500 youth between 6 to 18 years old.
How It Started
The first free Youth Dance and Safety event was in 2019, after Sumera and her sister, Sarah, discussed safety being a factor in why attendance remained low in so many of the free after-school and weekend youth dance and fitness classes that her peers were running in a few communities. Without a parent or older sibling available to drop them off and pick them up, many would not attend. Sumera decided to ask three community partners if they wanted to host a session where they could combine both a dance component and a self-defense component. Three one-off sessions were held across 3 communities and all of the sessions FULL.
To find out more about the 2023 Dance & Safety Event highlights, click here.
Our Street Safety Facilitators (2019 to 2025)
Niv Goffman and Jesse Solloum - Krav Maga Maleh Canada
Gemma - Former Ontario MMA fighter and owner of Girls Who Fight Inc.
Nikki - Six Krav Maga
Kris - a martial arts coach, men’s nurse, and kinesiologist
Sumera - street safety games and drills
A List of Host Organizations
2019
Success Beyond Limits - JaneFinch
L’Amoureux Community Center
SLYE Network
Weston Frontlines
Hijabi Ballers
YMCA Scarborough Newcomer Girl’s Project
2021 to 2023
Weston Frontlines
Success Beyond Limits - JaneFinch
Stephan Leacock Community Center
Mcgregor Park Community Center
Albion Boys and Girls Club, Albion Neighborhood Services
Rexdale Community and Health Services
2024
Weston Frontlines
Success Beyond Limits - JaneFinch
L’Amoureux Community Center /City of Toronto Parks and Recreation
Albion Boys and Girls Club, Albion Neighborhood Services
Rexdale Community and Health Services
Kickstart Kid’s Club, The Neighborhood Group Services
Flemingdon Health Center
Toronto Public Libraries (Humber Summit and Victoria Village)
Project Xguard Brazilian Ju-Jitsu
2025
L’Amoureux Community Center /City of Toronto Parks and Recreation
Albion Boys and Girls Club, Albion Neighborhood Services
Rexdale Community and Health Services
Flemingdon Health center
Project Xguard Brazilian Ju-Jitsu
