Since 1996 the Compania Étnica has been giving professional artistic training to youth in a dangerous favela (slum) in Rio. Dance, theater and citizenship classes provide an alternative.
Brazilian favelas are characterized by economic and social inequality, perpetuated by the difficult access to education and to different cultural activities and the racial prejudice. Compania Étnica provides an alternative through artistic and citizenship education. Scholarships are given to participants to provide support for their families and incentives to increase their breadth of knowledge. The project enriches the lives of those in the community through its various activities.
Dance, theater, art, and literature classes provide students with an outlet to receive scholarships and enter the job market. They also give performances for the community and work on self-esteem building, citizenship education and personal hygiene.
Since students receive training from seasoned professionals, they have the potential to become professionals themselves. These youths become role models in their community, increasing the quality of life of those involved.
This project has provided additional documentation in a Microsoft Word file (projdoc.doc).
