Dance of Hope, a Ugandan dance troupe, fired up an event hosted at a school in Washington, DC. The event, which was presided over by Uganda's Ambassador to the USA, Robie Kakonge, is a brainchild of the Washington Performing Arts and the DC Public Schools.
The organization partners with embassies in Washington, DC to expand the knowledge base and worldview of 5th Grade students in a series of educational visits. The third Embassy Adoption Program visit for the School Year 2022/23 at the Garfield Elementary School in South East Washington, DC was held on Monday.
Dance of Hope, led by Ethno-musicologist and Cultural Ambassador Chinobay (formerly Kinobe), put up an enthralling showcase of traditional Ugandan music and dance repertoire. Founded in 2010, by Chinobay and Bosco Segawa, Dance of Hope is a Ugandan youth-based arts education touring project, considered one of the most successful cultural exchange programs between Uganda and the USA.
The team travels extensively across the USA, visiting schools, festivals and performing at Arts centers. As a gesture of solidarity with the Embassy, they offered to perform at the school, pro-bono. The production, which gave the students an amazing insight into Uganda, included dances from all four regions of Uganda and had children and teachers alike, bouncing gleefully to the infectious rhythms of the traditional drums while joining the performers on the stage while singing and dancing along.
In addition to the Embassy team, the event was attended by Penelope Musto, Education Partnerships Manager at the Washington Performing Arts. The Ugandan Community was represented by Solomon Nkugwa, himself an alumnus of the African Children’s Choir and currently, the founder of Nile-Bridge International LLC, a non-profit organization that educates and empowers immigrant communities in settling in the USA.
Speaking to the audience, Chinobay explained that music creates memorable opportunities for both children and adults alike, but most importantly, music is a cultural bridge for people from diverse countries and backgrounds to learn about each other and find common ground. In her remarks, Amb. Kakonge thanked the administration of the school for warmly welcoming the Embassy and the Dance of Hope team. She encouraged the children to work hard, and never give up on their dreams.
