Created by José Mateo Ballet Theatre in 2008, Dance for World Community (DWC) is a partnership-based initiative that amplifies the connective power of dance to unify and strengthen our local communities.
Dance for World Community recognizes dance as a vastly underutilized medium not only for personal development but also for creating stronger community cohesion and raising awareness about social issues that matter to all communities around the world. JMBT created DWC in order to:
- Provide new structures for programs to engage and serve local communities through dance in more inclusive ways, and
- Raise awareness on a more global level about the medium’s powerful, yet untapped, potential to address social issues that concern us all, in ways that simultaneously build strong community cohesion.
Among its many roles in the community, it is one of the area’s largest presenters of local dance performance offering a free public day-long festival that celebrates the power of dance to bring people together. The festival features performances and classes in diverse styles of dance from more than 60 local dance companies, as well as over 20 social justice organizations and non-profits designed to raise awareness about dance and its potential to address social and environmental issues.
DWC builds community through its partnerships with over 100 local performance dance groups and organizations, as well as city government, local businesses, educational institutions, cultural agencies and social service non-profits. This dynamic event provides inclusive participation across all sectors, populations and communities in the Greater Boston area.
Beyond its role as presenter, DWC is committed to demonstrating a level of social responsibility and community building by connecting artists with partners in the fields of social and environmental advocacy. To advance this vision, the Festival, along with the following initiatives, further advance DWC’s mission to effect broader social change.
Accordingly, the project has two discrete parts: The Local Partnership Model and The Global Network.
The Local Partnership Model currently includes 200 partners across public, private, and non-profit sectors, including city government, local businesses, dance organizations, cultural agencies, social service agencies and other non-profit organizations. This Model produces 7 programs focused on leadership development, education, outreach and celebration, including the annual DWC Festival, and can be adopted and adapted by communities across the country as part of the Global Network.
The Global Network is a learning community of diverse individuals and organizations focused on expanding the role of dance to effect social change in local communities around the world. The network connects dance students, artists, administrators, authors and dance experts with activists working to raise awareness about social and environment justice issues. Participants engage in conversation and exchange ideas relevant to the repositioning of dance in our new global culture and learn about ways to engage stakeholders in their local communities to collaboratively increase participation in community building through dance.