Watch Novato Kids Perform Karate and Dance

Mark your calendars for May 20 and May 26 when NovatoSpirit students will be performing for the public. NovatoSpirit, a local nonprofit, provides athletic scholarships to low-income kids living in our city.

Our kids will be in a karate tournament at the on May 20 and at a dance performance at the Marin Civic Center Auditorium on May 26. The kids have spent three months practicing and preparing for these events.

The May 20 karate event is also a fundraiser for NovatoSpirit. The tournament will highlight the skills of its students, who will demonstrate techniques of kenpo karate, jo staff, escrima and swordsmanship. The event, which is open to the public, will take place from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. at the Novato Youth Center, 680 Wilson Ave. Tickets can be purchased the day of the event at the door. For more info, contact the Itos at 897-0676.

We have nine NovatoSpirit youths who love their karate scholarships. One middle-school aged boy, who will be performing at the tournament, wrote: “I like going to karate so much. I enjoy practice every time. Sometimes I feel proud of myself, because I am working so hard and now I go to karate four hours a week, because I am helping [younger kids learn].”

Some kids notice the health benefits of karate. One elementary-school aged boy, originally referred to us by his pediatrician, who was worried about his chronic asthma and his increasing weight, wrote: “Karate is improving my health, because I am getting skinnier. My life has improved by a lot of discipline.”

NovatoSpirit kids at have also remarked that they’re getting
healthier and happier. A middle-school aged girl wrote: “Dance is an exercise
that helps me shape my body into a healthy form and it helps me make healthier
choices in what I eat. My life has improved because of dance. I have learned to
schedule my time so that I am on time to practices. I do my homework and chores as soon as I get home from school.”

And an elementary-school age boy with special needs wrote: “I am learning new moves from hip hop. The dance helps my body be more active and I feel my body all day shaking and shaking, because I like to dance. Dance class is great exercise, because I feel my heart bumping and bumping. When I am dancing it makes me really, really happy.”

Now we have 15 youths dancing at Love 2 Dance, and some will be onstage at the May 26 spring recital, which is open to the public. Various dance styles — such as hip-hop, jazz, urban & break — will be featured at the performance starting at 6 p.m. at the Marin Veterans Memorial Auditorium, which is located near the Marin County Civic Center. For information about tickets, please call Love 2 Dance at 898-3933.