Dancing to inspire cultures of peace.



Welcome to Dance 4 Peace.

Dance 4 Peace is an innovative, global nonprofit that uses movement to inspire young people to be leaders and peacemakers in their communities. We engage both youth and adults through dance and creative movement to transform violence, conflict and bullying in schools and community centers. Through school and community center partnerships, Dance 4 Peace connects communities in the United States in Baltimore, Newark, New York City and Washington DC and internationally in Colombia, Germany, and the Philippines to share intercultural stories of peace. The program is completely movement-based and evaluated and has worked with over 4,566 youth in eight cities on four continents. Our vision is to ignite global social change through the art of movement.

The curriculum is a movement-based peace education program that promotes empathy, understanding, mediation skills, anger management, and emotional and civic engagement. Through exercises and activities utilizing movement, music, emotions, experiences, and thoughts, students are able to learn emotional and social competencies for peace. Inspired as part of a dancer's Fulbright Scholarship in 2007 in the outskirts of Bogota, Colombia, this civic education program demonstrates the power of corporal expression to change the lives of young people and the communities around them.

Participants in the Dance 4 Peace program are empowered to feel confidence and a sense of global awareness as change-agents within their schools and neighborhoods. The Dance 4 Peace curriculum transcends countries, socioeconomic differences, and varying languages and cultures; it is being adapted and implemented in diverse communities and in unique contexts. We connect communities of dance across the globe in order to share best practices and intercultural stories of peacebuilding and violence prevention.

Please read more to learn about the Dance 4 Peace curriculum and where the program is being implemented today. Be in touch to bring Dance 4 Peace to your local community and be a part of our global network. Join the movement!

  • “I have no doubt of the effectiveness of this method, and you inspired me to think of new creative ways to engage the students with this complex topic of peace. Peace is physical, peace is active, and you allowed them to experience that (even if they were not fully aware of it) in your workshop.”

    - Kesley Visser, DCPEACE

  • “I think our students gain a lot from not only the physical, energetic, and innovative aspect of the program but also learn more about respecting each other, different ideas, and different ways of expressing themselves. The curriculum empowers students by giving them a platform to engage in service in their own communities and also give back to and connect with others.”

    - Masoora Ali, Asian American Lead

  • “It's a fun and exciting way to get youth engaged while providing an avenue for them to be aware of themselves and how they can contribute positively to society. The program also creates a great rallying point to get youth to think and act globally. It is more amazing that Dance 4 Peace is a program that can be applied globally in differing cultural contexts.”

    - Becky Gitonga, Service for Peace

  • “I love being able to move, learn new dance steps, and come up with my own original dances. I also like how Dance 4 Peace taught us ways we could help the youth of Haiti, and through our dance we showed our support for the other kids less fortunate.”

    - Lupin Ramen, Wilson High School

  • “It was impressive to see how the program captured the attention of the students. Both participants and audience members, most of whom were younger than their peers performing, were incredibly engaged in the choreography and couldn't be distracted for a second.”

    - Dr. Enrique Chaux, University of Los Andes

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