As a Musical Ambassador of Peace, Ari has designed a specific program for refugee populations and uses evidence-based techniques to cultivate resilience through movement, music, art-making, and laughter. She has danced and created art with thousands of displaced souls—from Syrian and Iraqi girls rescued from ISIS enslavement to Afghan women escaping the Taliban.
Check out this 1-min video ⬆️ Dancing with Refugee Kids from Different Parts of the World ⬆️
Following the 2020 pandemic, at the request of asylum seekers, Ari began hosting weekly Zoom dance sessions to stay connected with refugees stranded in Mexico. Since then, she has also danced in person with unaccompanied Central American children at the San Diego Convention Center, as well as with Haitian refugees in Mexico and San Diego, and Ukrainian refugees in London. In collaboration with the San Diego Refugee Communities Coalition, she has facilitated mural painting, poetry workshops, and mask-making with Middle Eastern, Somali, and South Sudanese refugee youth 🌟
Due to the program’s success, Ari now provides customized Resilience through Joy workshops to educational & healthcare institutions, nonprofits, and corporations. Her approach has garnered international attention, including that of researchers at SDSU, UCSD, and Eberswalde University for Sustainable Development in Germany. Ari has recently joined the Blueprint Initiative, a partnership between the Johns Hopkins International Arts + Mind Lab Center for Applied Neuroaesthetics and the Aspen Institute’s Health, Medicine & Society Program.
TEDx Talk on Resilience through Joy
Refugee Youth Mural Project
Besides wellbeing support through music, Musical Ambassadors of Peace donates money, hygiene products, clothes, and food to shelters hosting asylum seekers. With the help of a matching fund through Healing Hands and other donors, we raised over $100,000 in 2021/2022/2023. Because of this donor support, we have overseen projects that foster a healing environment for migrant children and their families in several shelters in Mexico. For the latest videos and news, please follow Ari on Instagram and join the Substack Newsletter.
Relevant Articles
Slate: Why Dancing is So Good for Us
Newsweek: Stop Saying Migrant Parents Don’t Love Their Children
Parents: Children at the Border Need Joy, Just Like Our Kids. So I Bring Them Music
Yes! Magazine: Amid Travel Ban, Refugee Women Cope With Trauma and Stress Through Drum Circles
Voice of San Diego: Bringing Music and Dance to Asylum Seekers, One Drumbeat at a Time
Chicago Tribune: Drum circle helps refugee women heal from trauma