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.”
Cheers! The Revolutionary Whisky Series at Ten Mile Distillery, each named for a significant battle of the American Revolution, celebrates America at 250.
D.H. Callahan
In late 2025, in anticipation of the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence, the distillery introduced its Revolutionary Whisky Series. The collection features 57 unique expressions, each with its own combination of barrel types and aging periods, and each named for a significant battle of the American Revolution.
LeVangia sees the series not only as something collectible — a hallmark of the international craft distilling world — but also as an opportunity to educate. Most Americans learn about the Revolution in high school U.S. history classes, but LeVangia wanted to go beyond familiar stories such as Washington crossing the Delaware or the famous command to wait until soldiers could see “the whites of their eyes.” Each bottle helps tell a deeper story.
To bring those stories to life, Tenmile has gone the extra — dare they say, 11th — mile. Tom Bouldin, Ph.D., serves as the distillery’s historian. He consults on the series, helping LeVangia and Fraser connect each expression to an appropriate battle of the American Revolution. He also leads Tenmile’s lecture series. While some of Bouldin’s talks explore the history of popular music, his primary focus is the battles of the American Revolution.
With each new release, Tenmile hosts an intimate evening of history and whisky tasting. Centered on Bouldin’s meticulously researched lectures, the events often spark broader conversations about the battles, the people who fought them and what those events still mean today. It’s a style of promotion rarely seen today. Although the distillery and its grounds are stunning, these gatherings are not designed as Instagram photo opportunities. Instead, they bring together a small group of people eager to learn from the past while tasting something new.
That is what the Revolutionary Whisky Series — and Tenmile Distillery as a whole — is all about: learning from history while forging its own.
D.H. Callahan
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