Alumna Cameron Cunningham is using her performing arts education and love of dance to enrich lives and spread joy in the Grand Valley and abroad. She founded a non-profit organization called Reverent Rhythms during her junior year at CMU. After changing her major and career path 5 times, she graduated in 2019 with a Bachelor of Science in Health and Fitness Promotion and a minor in dance.
With a 4-member board of directors, ten dance instructors and one lighting and sound technician, Cunningham’s ministry-based studio in Grand Junction offers classes to students from 18-months to senior citizen in ballet, jazz, hip hop, contemporary, modern, tap, musical theater, acrobatics, aerial silks and more. Anyone can sign up for classes at reverentrhythms.com.
“When I founded Reverent Rhythms, the original vision was for it to become an international ministry through the performing arts. When I was invited to teach dance in Uganda earlier this year, I didn’t know what to expect,” Cunningham said. “Once I arrived, I was welcomed with open arms and enthusiastic smiles. It was an incredible opportunity to teach the students and to learn African dance from them as well.”
Cunningham’s invitation to Uganda came from fellow Maverick, Mathias Mulumba, who is currently studying at CMU as a non-traditional student. Mulumba is a native of Uganda and grew up in the streets. He and his wife founded the Father to the Fatherless ministry to better the lives of street children, orphans, single mothers and widows in Uganda through nutrition, housing, fostering, education and vocational training.
Cunningham and her team will bolster this ministry’s mission by creating a long-term and sustainable performing arts program there. “We will do this by training people up on the ground, building a studio there, and opening it up for performing artists from all around the world to come and teach at the F2F campus,” said Cunningham. She will return to Uganda to continue this work in January of 2023.
In addition to the local studio and Uganda mission, Reverent Rhythms instructors teach dance at Fruita Community Center, Hilltop, D51 after school programs and the local juvenile corrections program.
The organization also features a touring professional dance company, and the New Generation Scholarship program designed to serve families in financial need in our community by making performing arts lessons and personal finance education available to them.
"I have been blessed with an incredible support system here in Grand Junction,” Cunningham said. “It’s a community that supports not just me but also my business and ministry. Grand Junction is big enough to have resources to grow a business but small enough to give you that hometown feel.”
When asked what advice she would give to incoming dance and theatre students at CMU she said, “as you are working hard to earn your degree, take time to connect with the local community. There are many performing arts power houses here in the Grand Valley and surrounding areas. Network, connect and build relationships.”