PINE PLAINS — Children and families from across the Taconic region learned the cultural dances of Chihuahua, Mexico, as part of a series of events geared toward children throughout the summer.
Karina Powers of Red Hook’s Dance and Theater Arts Center and the Stissing Center for Arts and Culture held the “Dances of Chihuahua” workshop on Saturday aimed at teaching children in the community about Hispanic dances and culture.
Powers is a professional dancer and singer who received her master’s degree in Mexican Folklore Dance from Escuela de la Danza in Baja, California, Mexico. She is an active member of the Millbrook community where she teaches classes that educate people on Mexican culture and performing arts.
The workshop was held at the Stissing Center for Arts and Culture’s Banning Hall, where larger performances are held for members of the community. Powers began by showing families photographs of her history as a dancer and singer, as well as the traditional clothing worn by dancers in Chihuahua.
Powers said that as an artist you can learn to feel the energy from other people by seeing the emotions through their movement.
“I think it’s best for the people to get educated about folklorical dance from Mexico. It’s very important to me, because I do it with passion, with a lot of respect, and it’s what I want to show to them,” Powers said.
Beginner dancers learn some new moves during the Dances of Chihuahua event.Photo by Lucia Iandolo
As the workshop continued, families gathered on the stage as Powers walked through the steps while incorporating how they are historically important to the region of Mexico. The children and their parents were able to learn the dance while being immersed in the culture of Chihuahua.
Powers taught the families about folklorico shoes, the specific footwear that dancers wear for Mexican folk dancing. She explained that the footwear and clothing are important for dancers to safely perform fast-paced movement on wooden floors, and she allowed a child to wear one of the skirts during the workshop.
The “Dances of Chihuahua” event was held as part of the Stissing Center’s Summer Children’s Series, which is a program that includes diverse programming for kids. They have workshops, presentations, plays and educational events open to all children in the community and made possible by the Center’s donors.
Jose Vazquez Nava is an Event Production Intern at the Stissing Center. He said this event is important for community members in the Hudson Valley because it appeals to a culture that is not regularly showcased and involves children in more diverse programming.
“I think having these programs are so important, not only for children, but we could probably encourage kids who want to pursue dancing or a career in media arts,” Vazquez Nava said. “Centers like ours bridge that gap between a kid learning math or learning a new culture or art, which is very important.”
Powers showed the children and their families a choreographed routine with music while teaching them certain traditions that dancers follow. She explained that dance is not only physical, but emotional. She emphasized dancers making noises and screaming during their performances to get the audience’s attention and treat the performance like a celebration.
The Stissing Center for Arts and Culture’s Summer Children’s Series runs until Aug. 22, 2026. Each Saturday they hold free or “pay what you can” events sponsored by the Bank of Millbrook and Sugar Hill Farm. The events feature live music, storytelling and interactive workshops.
Powers said it is important to honor and respect this form of dance as it takes years to learn not only the artform, but the history behind it.
“Mexico is art, Mexico is history, Mexico is culture, and the way some people show it is not right,” Powers said. “For me, it’s very important to be educated because we have to take this with honor and respect.”
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Growing up in the Bronx, Hearn was captivated whenever she saw horses. Her grandfather, a Korean War veteran, had cared for military horses during the war. After returning home, he struggled with addiction, and the invisible wounds of military service. Through every difficult chapter of his life, however, one thing consistently brought him peace.
“Horses bring peace,” he told his granddaughter.
When Hearn was 11, after years apart, Hearn and her grandfather began spending weekends riding together. Less than a year later, he was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Before he died, he asked family members to help buy Hearn’s first horse — a stubborn paint horse that bit, kicked and frequently threw her off. She wanted to sell him. Her father refused.
“Every life has value,” he told her.
Looking back, Hearn says that lesson became the foundation of everything she would later build.
What began as a boarding stable in 2003 took a different direction after the Dutchess County SPCA asked Hearn to care for horses seized in cruelty cases. She soon realized that although Dutchess County had one of New York’s largest horse populations, there was no dedicated nonprofit equipped to care for neglected and abused horses. Lucky Orphans officially became a nonprofit in 2008.
Some of the more than 40 horses at Lucky OrphansProvided
Today, Hearn is quick to point out that Lucky Orphans is not simply a rescue.
“We’re a sanctuary,” she said.
Many of the more than 40 horses living there arrive with broken bones, chronic illnesses, heart conditions, missing eyes or other injuries that make them unsuitable for riding or adoption. Rather than rehabilitating and rehoming them, Lucky Orphans makes a lifetime commitment to every horse.
In 2013, Hearn became certified in equine-assisted psychotherapy, combining her lifelong relationship with horses and the lessons she learned from her grandfather to create programs for veterans, trauma survivors, children and families facing emotional challenges. The transformations she witnesses continue to surprise her. She recalls one woman who arrived convinced she would not fit in with a group of strangers. During the session, a horse quietly chose to follow her without a rope or commands. For the first time in years, the woman said she felt truly seen.
Another memory has stayed with Hearn ever since. A teenager in a juvenile probation program, wearing an ankle monitor and struggling with anger, entered a round pen with a horse. As his frustration grew, the horse moved farther away. When he finally calmed himself, the horse walked directly toward him and rested its head against his chest.
“I told him, ‘If you can control your energy, you can control the world around you,’” Hearn said.
Stories like these sustain her through the difficult realities of running a nonprofit. Operating the sanctuary costs roughly $52,000 each month, and Hearn lives on the property, where the work never truly ends. Veterinary bills, staffing, fundraising and the daily care of dozens of horses are constant concerns. Then someone returns years later and tells her that the horses changed their child’s life.
“That’s why I keep going,” she said.
Looking ahead, Hearn hopes more people discover what makes Lucky Orphans unique. The organization is expanding its community programming with educational visits, yoga sessions, horse encounters, volunteer opportunities and family events designed to reconnect people with horses and with one another.
Her vision is simple: to create a place where people slow down, reconnect and remember something modern life often makes us forget. If horses could speak, Hearn believes they would offer just one piece of advice.
“They’d tell us to slow down,” she said.
After spending an afternoon at Lucky Orphans, it’s hard to disagree.
For more information or to plan a visit, go to luckyorphans.org
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