On Friday, June 24, 2016 Regional Aid for Interim Needs, Inc. (R.A.I.N.), at the Tolentine Center, Bharati Dance Academy and The Bharati Foundation teamed up for the Inaugural Bollywood Celebration, an event showcasing a “Taste of Indian and Caribbean Culture”, something that has never been done in any of the R.A.I.N. Centers.
“Many of the Senior Centers usually have music, food, hip-hop, zumba or arts and craft for the seniors to take part, but this is the first time that the R.A.I.N. Tolentine Center is doing something different,” said Bharati S. Kemraj, Founder of the Bharati Dance Academy and The Bharati Foundation. “I have been teaching Bollywood dance and workout classes with the seniors and it will be a delight to see them perform a Bollywood dance with the moves they have spent weeks perfecting.”
R.A.I.N. is a premier senior service organization established in 1964 by our visionary Founder, Mrs. Beatrice Castiglia-Catullo. Its mission is to enhance the well-being and quality of life for all New Yorkers by meeting the interim needs of people of all ages.
“It is an exciting time to see such change at the center,” said Iris Bonhomme, Program Director who started in 2015. “Over the year that I have been here, Seniors are coming out in numbers and participating more and it is a testament of how much they like the different programs and activities that we are proving for them.”
The Bollywood celebration program included music, food, special Bollywood dance by Seniors of the Tolentine Center, and a cultural dance mix including Bollywood and Salsa moves performance and choreographed by Manuel J. Diana Bonhomme from Puerto Rico and Bharati S. Kemraj, Founder of the Bharati Dance Academy.
Jane Arce- Bello, Executive Director, R.A.I.N. Inc.; Larcenia Walton, Director of Senior Services, Office of The Bronx Borough President and Iris Bonhomme, Program Director, R.A.I.N. Tolentine Center were each honored for their time, dedication and commitment to doing all they can for the Seniors in the borough of The Bronx through various collaborations and programs.
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