Sun 4/29 - SALGA Dance Team: First Practice!

Join us for our very first dance practice leading to our performance at Manhattan and Queens pride!

When: Sunday, April 29th 2012
6:30PM - 8:30PM
Where: Chelsea Studios
151 W 26th St, Studio 502

After three very successful seasons of New York Pride performances, SALGA is ready to pull out all of the stops to give the streets of NYC a taste of the gaysi life through our stellar dance team!

WHAT IS THE SALGA DANCE TEAM?:
The SALGA dance team is a group of community members and allies who LOVE dance. We use dance and art as a way to promote visibility for the South Asian LGBT Community.

WHAT IS THE COMMITMENT?:
We rehearse for a few hours per weekend from April - June. The commitment is not too intense, but we ask that you do not miss more than two scheduled rehearsals.

DO I NEED TO HAVE DANCE EXPERIENCE?:
Absolutely not. 1) We use simple choreography as we perform for long stretches. 2) SALGA Dance team is a teaching opportunity for anyone who loves dance.

HOW DO I GET INVOLVED?:
To start, come to our informational session on Sunday, April 15 @ Central Park North by the pond starting at 1PM. BYO Lunch and we’ll chill and talk dance.

Spread the word to your friends! We want to make as big of an impact as possible!

Check us out from last year. We’re pretty fly (even from behind): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iINUMCbEZA

For more information, contact navid@salga.org or rohan.sheth86@gmail.com

Saturday 4/14 - Monthly Support Group

Join SALGA for Our Monthly Support Group Meeting.

As always, the topic is a guide but please feel free to bring any topic of concern to you. Support group is for you.

Date: Saturday, April 14, 2012
Time: 4 - 6pm
Location: LGBT Center, 208 West 13th Street

SALGA’s monthly support group meetings are a SAFE, CONFIDENTIAL space for you to join a group atmosphere to talk about issues that affect your life and well-being. We provide a supportive atmosphere to all attendees

Sunday 4/15 - Don’t Get Fancy. Just Get Dancey. SALGA DANCE TEAM IS BACK! - Informational Session

After three very successful seasons of New York Pride performances, SALGA  is ready to pull out all of the stops to give the streets of NYC a taste of the gaysi life through our stellar dance team!

What is the SALGA Dance Team?: The SALGA dance team is a group of community members and allies who LOVE dance. We use dance and art as a way to promote visibility for the South Asian LGBT Community.

What is the Commitment?: We rehearse for a few hours per weekend from April - June. The commitment is not too intense, but we ask that you do not miss more than two scheduled rehearsals.

Do I need to have dance experience?: Absolutely not. 1) We use simple choreography as we perform for long stretches. 2) SALGA Dance team is a teaching opportunity for anyone who loves dance.

How Do I Get Involved?: To start, come to our informational session on Sunday, April 15 @ Central Park North by the pond starting at  1pm. BYO Lunch and we’ll chill and talk dance.

Spread the word to your friends! We want to make as big of an impact as possible!

Check us out from last year. We’re pretty fly (even from behind). http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4iINUMCbEZA

For more information, contact navid@salga.org or rohan.sheth86@gmail.com (412) 427 2783

Sunday 4/1 - Desi Family Pride!

This event is a discussion group among family members, friends and allies of LGBTQ South Asians. Through dialogue and stories from parents, siblings, LGBT members and allies, this space will create a powerful opening towards greater acceptance and understanding, and unconditional love for LGBTQ members within the South Asian community at-large.  Please join us for this pioneering event.

Where: Alwan for the Arts
16 Beaver Street, 4th Floor
(btwn Broad Street & Broadway) in Manhattan
When: Sunday, April 1st from 3:30 pm - 5:30 pm
Who: Open to LGBTQ members, family members and allies of the LGBTQ community

Light snacks will be served

RSVP at http://desifamilypride.eventbrite.com/ by Thursday, March 29

Subways: 4/5 to Bowling Green; J/Z to Broad St.; R to Whitehall St.; 1 to Rector St. or South Ferry; 2/3 to Wall St.; A/C to Fulton.
PATH Train: Take the Path Train to World Trade Center, walk or transfer to 4/5 to Bowling Green

***SPECIAL FEATURE: Need Help Inviting Your Family or Friends to this Event?

If you would like to invite your family members to this event (to participate as a speaker, or simply to observe) please see the template letter below you can model for your own purposes:

Dear family member,

We thank you for the love and support that you have given us over the years.  We know that the path to accepting your lesbian/gay/bisexual/ trans family member may have been a difficult one for you.  Some of our family members are still struggling with this journey, and could really use your support, guidance, and inspiration.  Some of us (LGBTQ South Asians), whose families are not yet accepting of us, would also be inspired by hearing your stories.   We want to have a new kind of event at SALGA this Spring, one that is not meant just for the LGBTQ members of the community, but one that also embraces our families.  Whether it be parents, uncles, aunties, siblings, cousins, or other family members, many of us have relied on the support of our family members. We also want to make sure that our community is supporting you in this process, as we know there are currently not many forums for family members of LGBTQ South Asians to come together.

Ideally, we hope that you might like to speak at this event about your experience.  We understand that some of you may not be in NYC, and you would like to write or Skype your story - if you are interested in doing that, please let Sunil or Anjali know (see their contact information below.)  We want to make this a supportive and welcoming environment for everyone involved.   If you’re interested in being a part of Desi Family Pride, please reach out to us.  The event will be held on Sunday April 1st at Alwan for the Arts, which is at 16 Beaver Street in downtown Manhattan from 3:30 - 5:30 pm.  Please let us know if this is an event you would like to be part of.

Hope to hear from you soon!

For more information:
Sunil -  Sunil_Oommen@hotmail.com
Anjali - anjali@salganyc.org

Sunday 3/25 - Book Club Meeting!

SALGA NYC BOOK CLUB reads

Arundhati Roy’s

The God of Small Things

Sunday, March 25, 2012 4:00pm

Join us as we discuss this Booker prize winning book over beverages and snacks.

Please RSVP to Avinash at bookclub@salganyc.org and we’ll send you the location and contact information.