Testimonials

    Harrison Blum was a volunteer intern with the Family Program at Spirit Rock Meditation Center during the month of January 2008.  Harrison offered hip hop dance and movement with our weekly elementary school children class, and middle school aged class.  He was also a specialist teacher at our winter Family Day with 60 families with children aged 2-14.  
    Harrison is uniquely gifted at working with the entire range of ages our program serves.  He showed enormous creativity and depth at weaving together the principles of the teaching themes we offered- such as mindfulness, forgiveness, letting go, and wise communication with the movement activities he taught the children and families.  He was very well received by the children, youth, parents, and his co-teachers – he is quite easy to work with.  The Family Program would be happy to welcome Harrison back to teach at anytime he returns to the West Coast.

Heather Sundberg
Family Program Teacher & Manager

Spirit Rock Meditation Center

    Our Harrison-led breakdown experience allowed us to both collect and connect with ourselves through feeling & movement.  During the hour we spent, we took time to “break” down the dance of body & mind, to feel & know – from the heart – more deeply who we are.

Buzz Bussewitz

Group Leader, Family Retreat 2008

Insight Meditation Center

    …as a family, we joined hands and danced.  Swaying to the music, giggling, changing our patterns and supporting each other in a circle, there were smiles on all the faces in the family.  Duncan looked at his mother and said, “This is the best family time, ever!”
    This has been a hard year of change for our family.  But, now I know we can dance through anything. We have decided to end each of our council times with dance.
    I thank you for giving my family a non-verbal way to communicate, for getting us all to smile and giggle, to let us support each other, to get us to connect without a TV in front of us.

 

Karen Frost

mother and participant at
Spirit Rock Family Day, January 2008

     I invited Harrison to be a guest speaker in the Chapel at the Cardigan Mountain School in Canaan, New Hampshire, where I am currently the chaplain.  He had 200 boys (6-9th graders) eating out of the palm of his hand.  They were so quiet and attentive that you could hear a pin drop.  They were completely captivated by the stories he shared about his life journey from Milton Academy, to college, to Nepal, to Israel, and to other fascinating places.  And when he spoke about his interest in teaching children about the importance of dance and movement as an integral part of the educational process they were sincerely moved - particularly when he did a little "moon walking" by the podium.

 

Rev. Dr. Robert Ganung

Chaplain, Cardigan Mountain School

March, 2007

    In shaping Dance Path, Harrison Blum has created a container that is both firm and flexible, allowing participants to find and follow their dancer within.  During the two hour space of Dance Path, I found the safety and room to uncover an internal impetus or explore an external inspiration, to dance alone, with a partner or in a group.
    The music sets are uplifting, joyous and irresistible,  and my experience of the energetic design of the event was that it embraced and encouraged, without encroaching. Dance Path is a special and vital venue in which to move! A rare treat.

Ellen Grabiner, on the DDC's predecessor- Dance Path
Professor of Visual Communications, Simmons College
February, 2007

      Harrison ran a 45 minute breakdancing workshop for about 10 of my high school students.  It was great to see them in a different context than normal and I was impressed how comfortable Harrison made them feel in a setting that can sometimes be challenging for teens.   He consistently engaged the students not only by demonstrating different moves but also by allowing them to show off their own.  Throughout the session the students had smiles on their faces and enjoyed the opportunity to interact in new ways.  After the session the students continued to talk about what they had learned and show each other their own signature moves.

Nati Passow
Environmental Educator
University City High School, Philadelphia, PA
February, 2007