Our Impact

Created a nonprofit organization called “Rio Danza Comunitaria” which engages communities to take care of their own water resources. As a result, Global Water Dances expanded to other cities like Cuzco (2014) and Lambayeque (2015).

The dancers were members of the Nananom (The King’s) traditional troupe. The dance performance was choreographed to raise awareness about the adverse impacts of unsustainable mining practices, called galamsey. The ideologies reflected in the choreography and overall performances advocates a “Bottom-Up” approach and effective stakeholder engagement practices. The chief of Funko region and the regent of Akatenke spoke about the importance of the event and their efforts to stop Galamsey practices.
~ Emmanuel Brace

The greatest impact this event had was that students, ages 11-16, participated in critical and creative thinking around water issues. They discussed the roles water plays in their lives, the concerns that they had re: water, and created poetry and reflections, as well as movement. For many students, this was the first time they used art to engage in an activist way. I am hoping to continue to do the Global Water Dances, as well as the National, and use this as an example for how young people can be involved in activism and issues.
~ Nicole Perry

We raised awareness of the need for increased research on the effects of ingested environmental toxins and continued advocacy for clean water because research shows certain environmental exposures, for people with a genetic predisposition, increase risk of developing Parkinson’s disease. PCBs have been found in relatively high concentrations in the brains of people who had Parkinson’s disease. Our message is especially strong because our Global Water Dances performers are people with Parkinson’s disease.
~ Cynthia Pegado

The Flint Youth Ballet has participated in community engagement events for over 25 years, but our current group had not yet had the opportunity but had requested it. Global Water Dances came at the perfect time for our curriculum as well as a chance for our students to communicate their anger, fear, and hope during the Flint Water Crisis. The Flint water crisis first started in 2014 when the drinking water source for the city of Flint, Michigan was changed from Lake Huron and the Detroit River to the cheaper Flint River. Due to insufficient water treatment, lead leached from the lead water pipes into the drinking water, exposing over 100,000 residents. After a pair of scientific studies proved lead contamination was present in the water supply, a federal state of emergency was declared in January 2016 and Flint residents were instructed to use only bottled or filtered water for drinking, cooking, cleaning, and bathing.