MINDLEAPS USES DANCE TO SUPPORT MARGINALIZED CHILDREN ACROSS AFRICA

Founded in 2014, MindLeaps is a nonprofit organization that deploys dance to support street kids and other marginalized children in locations across Africa and the Balkans. Not only did the organization receive significant attention thanks to their partnership with ballerina Misty Copeland, but the tools they use demonstrate the way that dance can be an effective means to expand the horizons of young people who face serious financial and educational obstacles in their lives. We chatted with Executive Director Rebecca Davis and International Coordinator Eugene Dushime to learn more about the organization. Continue reading MINDLEAPS USES DANCE TO SUPPORT MARGINALIZED CHILDREN ACROSS AFRICA

CHOREOGRAPHER CONFRONTS THE TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT ABOUT STEREOTYPES OF DANCERS

For Nawel Skandrani, a dance leader and cutting-edge choreographer in Tunisia, the Covid-19 lockdown has brought episodes of financial uncertainty but also time to explore and to reflect. It also gave her clarity about her leadership role in strengthening the Tunisian dance community into the future. Taking time away from the stage has given her renewed energy as an advocate for dancers to the Tunisian federal government. Continue reading CHOREOGRAPHER CONFRONTS THE TUNISIAN GOVERNMENT ABOUT STEREOTYPES OF DANCERS

BALLET BRINGS JOY AND LUNCH TO KIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA’S TOWNSHIPS

Zama Dance School was founded in 1984 in Gugulethu, a township in South Africa, with the goal of using ballet to build confidence among young children in South Africa living under apartheid. Ballet Rising’s contributor Lindsay Alissa King recently interviewed Zama Dance School’s director Andrew Warth about what the school and its students are up to today. Continue reading BALLET BRINGS JOY AND LUNCH TO KIDS IN SOUTH AFRICA’S TOWNSHIPS

EP0018 ANDILE NDLOVU | SOUTH AFRICA

Casey Herd talks with Washington Ballet star Andile Ndlovu about his life in South Africa and the future of ballet around the world. Andile Ndlovu of Johannesburg, South Africa, is in his ninth season with The Washington Ballet, after dancing one season with TWB’s Studio Company. Ndlovu began his training in Latin American and ballroom dance at the age of ten. Continue reading EP0018 ANDILE NDLOVU | SOUTH AFRICA

EP0015 COOPER RUST | KENYA

Dance Centre Kenya | Artists For Africa Cooper hails from Columbia, USA and trained in classical ballet, jazz, modern, tap, and musical theatre for more than fifteen years beginning with Ann Brodie and finishing at schools including the School of American Ballet and the Harid Conservatory. While dancing professionally with three American ballet companies, she acquired a bachelors’ degree in Dance Performance and Choreography as … Continue reading EP0015 COOPER RUST | KENYA