Many Nigerian children are unable to explore their artistic passions, not just because they lack the resources to, but because of negative stereotypes, unstable home lives, lack of awareness on possible futures in these art forms. Without any form of programmatic intervention or support, such boys and girls have little sufficiency, and no chance of creatively participating in their communities.
Prompted by the challenges in our community, Slum to Stage utilises the power of dance to create safe creative communities, providing access to artistic opportunities and life-skills development. We are closing the gap between arts & academic education in classrooms, by campaigning for academic schools to imbibe creative and problem-solving skills into their curricula. We run a unique, carefully crafted program with easy-to-assimilate dance methods that help children and youths undergo ethical interactive transformation.
In January 2023, we launched the STS intensive training program which ran for four months (January-April). Trainees underwent intense four hour training in Ballet and modern dance styles, Under the supervision of professional dancers and counselors, the trainees developed behavioural skills like Teamwork, Creativity,and Discipline. The results have been impressive, as they have shown huge improvements in their dance abilities and character at home and in school.
Some of our achievements over the last one year includes;
1. Maiden Event Launch- The STS initiative kicked off with an event hosted and sponsored by the Transcorp Hilton Hotel. We took children from the slums, trained them, and they performed at the luxurious hotel. This was done to remind them to dream beyond their physical environment.
2. An Art Exhibition at the African Creative Market Global held in Lagos. We used this platform to fundraise for the children benefiting from the program.
3. Dance School Tour. We visited 20 Schools in Abuja to create enlightenment on the importance of harmonising Academic & Creative skills
Our Goal for the next 2 years is to partner with international organisations for diverse education, to find creative ways to solve the UN SDG 4 in our community.
1. You should conduct research on the need your are providing solution for.
2. Create proposals and clear documentation of the solution and the context in which it is to be used
3. Reach out to the Slum to stage Team on slumtostageafrica@gmail.com
