
Listen to Jaleria’s Interview
Meet Jaleria Rivera who feels found through dance.
Chances are if you grew up as the eldest sibling in a large household, the idea of rest is something that you aren’t too familiar with. Oftentimes when you’re the older sibling, your childhood includes caring for and watching over younger brothers and sisters.
This was the reality for Jaleria Rivera who just recently discovered she felt found through dance.
Jaleria always enjoyed dancing and movement growing up and into adulthood, but didn’t have time to explore her passion for it until the pandemic hit. It was early in lockdown that her long “watch list” of dance videos finally became a part of her restful routine.
She shares: “Everyone you adore as an artist started in the same place as you — a complete beginner and admirer. So I just started doing the practice, and it started to cultivate into that rest. To me, rest is joy and flow. And I find that when I dance.”
Connect with Jaleria
SPECIAL THANK YOU TO

More Portraits
The Found Project | Ashley Gurley
As a child, Ashley’s mother would often be searching for her — to finish her homework or to work on household chores — and Ashley would be hiding, usually in a tree, with a book. Her favorite book? Anne of Green Gables.
The Found Project | Sarah Prater
Sarah talks about growing up as a very sick child who wasn’t allowed to be super active, so rest was a difficult topic for her. Her restful activity of being on a bike was accidentally discovered in high school and eventually became her favorite activity for turning off the noise of the world.
The Found Project | Raquel Leal
It wasn’t until Raquel moved to the United States and started her own family that she felt she had the time to step away from her demanding life as a lawyer to really take some time for herself. After taking a year off of work, she began to find joy and rest in doing activities with her 9-year-old daughter — spending time at the library, crafting, painting…



