To support acrobatics and dance in Prospect Heights, stand on your hands!

May 16, 2012 Brooklyn Eagle Staff

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Prospect Heights-based LAVA holds its ninth anual Handstand-a-Thon this Sunday, May 20, at 2 p.m.

LAVA artists who develop and perform original works that combine dance, theater and acrobatics — and who teach rigorous, creative and inclusive movement to both children and adults — hope to raise $20,000 to to support their free community activities.

Handstand experts as well as first-timers — anyone who is interested, really — are invited to the studio, at 524 Bergen St., to “log seconds and minutes with their hands on the ground and their feet in the air!”

A photo from last year's Handstand-a-Thon. Photo by Emily Lambert Each $125 raised can support one day of the P.S. 9 Pick-Up Program, in which six children are picked up from school and brought to the LAVA studio for a class. Each $235 provides a season-long scholarship. Donations also support tuition subsidies and scholarships for paying students. Say organizers, “Haven’t done a handstand before? No problem! Handstanders can use the wall, a spotter or several spotters. The total time spent upside down will be tallied and added to a collective handstand pool. The goal for the total time of people with their feet raised is 1 second for every dollar raised, with a goal of $20,000… Whether your handstand is 10 seconds, 45 seconds or even 2 minutes, all of it helps us meet our promise.” Participating handstanders are encouraged to create personalized fundraising pages at ww.firstgiving.com/lava. Each person who registers will receive an “I <3 Handstanding” wristband. As fundraisers meet different incentive tiers, they will receive different gifts. You can also become a “Handstand Spotter” by sponsoring a specific challenge, such as giving $500 if LAVA can wrangle 25 people to do 30-second handstands at the same time. Or, you can come up with your own challenge and email it to [email protected] for consideration.