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

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

Students of Zama Dance School, a ballet dance school that serves South Africa’s townships, describe their experiences with ballet. Hear their experiences in their own words. Continue reading SOUTH AFRICAN BALLET STUDENTS REFLECT ON SELF-ESTEEM, DISCRIMINATION, AND HOW DANCE TAUGHT THEM TO ACHIEVE THEIR DREAMS

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

Classically trained dancer Nikhita Winkler brings traditional Namibian dance to the classroom at Nikhita Winkler Dance Theatre in Windhoek, Namibia. Continue reading “I WANT TO DO TRADITIONAL DANCE BECAUSE THAT IS OUR BALLET!”