We ROSE on V-Day! One Billion Rising Video

Valentine’s Day 2013 was one for the record books. As you’ll see in this One Billion Rising video, we kicked off the morning in West Hollywood to take a stand against violence towards women. With Eve Ensler, mighty warrior for women, cancer survivor, creator of the Vagina Monologues, and founder of the non-profit V-Day at the helm of the events taking place around the globe, the morning was simply inspiring.

One Billion Rising was V-Day‘s most ambitious project since its inception fifteen years ago. Along with hundreds of people from Los Angeles, including Anne Hathaway, Jane Fonda, Marisa Tomei, and Frances Fisher, we ROSE in protest and danced flashmob-style in the streets of WEHO. (Photos below)

Here is the One Billion Rising video recap of the morning (including our stellar flashmob dance!):

The event, which was originally planned to be hosted at The Grove, took place at the corner of Santa Monica Blvd. and Holloway, with the incredible cooperation of the city of West Hollywood who had law enforcement on hand to BLOCK OFF the street. Talk about “Dancing in the Street!”

Hathaway, Fonda, and Tomei all spoke passionately about the need to RISE so that future generations do not see the kind of violence inflicted upon women around the world.

According to the United Nations, one in three women will be beaten or raped in her lifetime. Annually, that’s ONE BILLION women globally who will be the victims of violence.

This was our first flashmob and we had a blast! Two weekend rehearsals preceded it with the talented Alexis Carra teaching us legendary choreographer Debbie Allen‘s routine to “Break the Chain,” the song created for the event. It was certainly one of the most memorable and empowering Valentine’s Days we’ve ever had. Thank you to everyone who participated and came out to support!

For more on why we joined the One Billion Rising, head here.

To learn why Superbowl Champion Jarvis Green joined the rising, click here.

Visit onebillionrising.org for more.

P.S. We saw lots of news crews out there on the day of, but haven’t caught any of the local news coverage, nor have been able to locate any online specific to WEHO. We’re thrilled, however, to see One Billion Rising video coverage from around the world! If you’ve seen any local LA news on the event that we somehow missed, please send us links in the comments below!