The Active Rainbow stories continue with reflections from participants of our latest project, sharing moments, emotions, and learning from their journey together. Scroll down to reconnect with the heart of the programme and discover what this experience meant for them.
To Move is a 10-day youth experiential learning programme that brought together young queer people from Greece, Latvia, Estonia, Poland, Spain, and Italy in a safer and braver space to explore dance, movement, and embodiment as tools for self-expression, healing, and community-building. Rooted in Active Rainbow’s approaches to embodied learning and inspired by personal journeys of dance and connection, the project aimed to nurture empowerment through movement rather than technique.
The programme welcomed participants with diverse backgrounds and experiences in dance, focusing not on performance or skill-building, but on self-exploration, presence, and authentic connection with ourselves and others. Each day was filled with movement-based activities, reflection, and shared experiences — always guided by care, consent, and respect for personal boundaries.
Living together as a community was an essential part of the journey. Participants supported one another through daily tasks, collective care, and smaller group processes, creating a space where self-organization, compassion, and mutual responsibility could flourish alongside structured learning moments.
At its core, To Move sought to foster a supportive queer community grounded in acceptance and authenticity, strengthen self-awareness and confidence, and inspire collective action — including local initiatives in Riga and in each partner country. Through interactive and experiential learning, participants learned by doing, by sharing, and by moving together.
Enjoy the reflections and insights from this powerful journey of embodiment, connection, and collective growth!
Those 10 days meant a lot to me and it is a bit hard to put it into a few words but I will try: For me the project was full of moments and learnings that I will carry with me.
I loved the feeling of a safe environment, where there is no place for judgment, but just being as we are and as we want to be, while taking in count each other’s boundaries. I am grateful for the light playfulness that I felt during those days, all the laughing and silliness, just the pure joy of having fun and creating a little community together.
I will carry in my heart the exchanged smiles and kind looks, and shared dances where the words were not needed. I will keep in my heart the beauty of moving together, but also alone, just by myself, because it is important to notice and really see the other but also yourself.
I will have in my memories the beauty of movement both in nature and people. It was so magical to stop for a moment and just witness and appreciate. I will remember how important it is to move and that the movement can be as small as breathing to make a difference.
I would love for everyone to see that moving our bodies is not just dancing but a way to express, to feel, to understand, to communicate.
To Move was a place where I could feel safe and at home, doing what I love, with people I had just recently met. It was an important experience of learning to take better care of myself and others, through communication, consent and boundary setting.
It was truly magic, Active Rainbow and the facilitators Kris and Vasiliki took incredible care for everything, you could feel that they were really there with us and supporting the learning process as best as they could.
I really loved the venue, to be immersed in nature and live as a community, is something that I think we all need more of in our lives. I am incredibly grateful for the experience and recommend it to all✨️
What I appreciated most from the To Move youth exchange was the kind, respectful and caring space that was created. With the guidance of the facilitators and the sweet presence of all the participants, I felt very comfortable and safe. Even when I had to step out of my comfort zone. This kind of feeling is one I want to take with me into my everyday life. It’s very important to feel comfortable especially in a project focused on movement because it creates the space for one to move as they wish and get the most from the experience. Which I felt I definitely got to do! Being in this beautiful venue in the middle of nature and eating incredibly delicious food made by the amazing cooks made me feel so rich and cared for. Thank you!
