Our 2024 Event series Is Generously Supported By

About Our Annual Youth Dance and Safety Event

The goal of our Youth Dance and Safety event is to get more youth who live in under-resourced areas with high gun violence rates to move more and feel safe as they walk around their neighborhoods and take the TTC. To achieve this, sessions include fun dance energizers to help the youth warm up and an easy-to-follow street self-defense session filled with pair and group activities. 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 275 youth between 6 to 18 years old.

This year’s event will be split into a 2-part series: a Spring end-of-school-year series and a Fall Halloween trick-or-treat series for little kids. The 2024 event will run across 5 communities with 6 host organizations and impact the lives of approximately 150 youth participants.

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.

Sumera is a children’s fitness coach, fitness instructor specialist, NCCP coach, and community dance instructor who has valid CPR training and a 2023 Police Check (VSC). She works hard to recruit safe and caring facilitators who have experience working with youth in community settings and have strong credentials in their industry.

To find out more about the 2023 Dance & Safety Event highlights, click here.

Our Safety Facilitators (2019 to 2024)

Gil Katz, Niv Goffman, and Jesse Solloum - Krav Maga Maleh Canada

Gemma - MMA fighter and owner of Girls Who Fight Inc.

Nikki - Six Krav Maga

Kris Raghabir - a martial arts coach, men’s nurse, and kinesiologist

Raul Chavez - World Brazilian Ju Jitsu Champion and Owner of Project XGuard

A List of Host Organizations

2024 Spring and Fall Schedules

To talk to Sumera, please send her a message below ;)