Every once in a while life presents you with a situation that is difficult to ignore. So when St. Albert realtor Sharon Ryan learned of Zambia’s Village of Hope orphanage and their funding struggles, she organized a competitive dance event.
In an odd twist, the winners will dance for the Zambians even as the orphans simultaneously dance for Edmonton live via Skype using iPad technology.
“One of my clients had gone to Africa several times to the orphanage and he showed me some pictures of them. I nearly bawled to see how vulnerable they were. They had lost both parents to HIV-AIDS. Some that were three and four had nursed their parents. And then when their parents had died they were left vulnerable to starvation, disease and human predators,” said Ryan.
Unable to look away, Ryan learned that Sergio Bersaglio, the Village of Hope director was coming to St. Albert. North Pointe Church sponsored the village and he was arriving to provide updates. At a meeting Bersaglio spoke of the difficulties of finding funding for operating costs.
“He said the child sponsorship program was working well. Everyone wants to adopt a cute child. But the village’s operating costs are not covered and donating to operating costs are less popular,” Ryan explained.
A self-taught belly dancer, she offered to organize a dance event several times a year with proceeds passed on to the villages. As a show of her strong commitment, Ryan has adopted a biblical slogan – “dance for joy for in you the orphan finds compassion.”
In the premiere event tonight at the Westin Hotel, 50 dancers from the Edmonton School of Dance and the Victoria School of Arts will perform solos, duets and group dances to vie for the honour of dancing for Africa.
Prior to each dance, every group must deliver a line of inspiration. The three judges, including newly elected St. Albert MLA Stephen Khan, will consider both the dance and the line of inspiration as part of their judging criteria.
The contest starts at 8 p.m. and runs for about two hours. At exactly 10:30 p.m. Edmonton time the winning group will Skype their dance. In Zambia the time will be Sunday, 6:30 a.m. and a group of Village of Hope children will have risen early to Skype their traditional dances.
“There’s so many messages in this about contrasts and working together. There are rich kids dancing for poor kids and poor kids dancing for rich kids. We have white kids connecting with black kids. We have ballet versus modern dance. We have everything going on.”
A PowerPoint presentation on the ethics of helping the most vulnerable is also planned.
“These young dancers have taken a feeling and turned it into positive action. It’s a healthy way to live and we should applaud them.”
Tickets are available at the door at $10 for seniors/students, $20 for adults, or $75 with $25 going directly to the orphanage.
