Help OrigiNation Raise $25,000

Greetings!

As we enter 2023, I am filled with optimism, hope, and gratitude. After a two-year hiatus, we resumed our Youth Empowerment Tour this past August with a tour to London and Paris. The primary goals of this tour are to (1) raise our students' awareness and exposure to aspects of cultures with which they may not be familiar and (2) provide students in the countries we visit with an opportunity to learn more about African-American culture and discover their artistic talents in the areas of dance, theater, and spoken word.

On Saturday, November 27th, we took 14 students from our Professional Dance Division to New York City as part of our Dancing Back to Life initiative. Funded in part by Converse, the goal of the day trip was to continue to help our students adjust to life after the pandemic after two years of isolation. We still see the effects of this pandemic on our student's mental health and will continue to support them the best way we know how. Our students traveled to New York City to attend a performance of our sister company, Complexions Contemporary Ballet. They also met with alumni Miki Scott (who just performed at the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade and is featured in the movie Blue's Big City Adventure), Muadi B. Dibinga, Interim Executive Director of Complexions, and went to dinner at a restaurant in Times Square. Our dancers left New York feeling invigorated and inspired.

With your help we can continue to create opportunities for our students to have more experiences that lift their spirits, advance their training and re-ignite their passion for life. We thank you for support as we enter our 29th year of providing quality arts programming for our youth!

Asante Sana (thank you!)

Shaumba-Yandje Dibinga, Founding Artistic Director