TUESDAY, MARCH 16, 2010

Women in Action Folklore Dance Tour–Sept. 12-Nov. 2

Compas de Nicaragua Presents: Women in Action Folklore Dance Tour

Compas de Nicaragua will be organizing our third Women in Action (WIA) dance tour in the US from September 12 through November 2, 2010. The tour will bring six young people from WIA to the U.S. to perform traditional dances while educating audiences about Nicaragua's culture and current conditions. The tour will be a wonderful way to reach out to your community and raise awareness about other cultures, issues of poverty, and Compas and Women in Action's important work.

Ana Narvaez, Compas de Nicaragua's Executive Director, is currently holding evening dance classes with 15 youth members of WIA. At the end of May, Ana will select the six members who will make the trip to the US as part of our fall 2010 tour.

The tour is entitled, “Nicaragua Folklore Dancing.” The performance will include several traditional dances with costumes and dresses, including feathered hats and woven baskets that are balanced on the head. The music is traditional, folklore, music played on the marimba. The dancing is a mix of Spanish and indigenous styles. It is performed with long dresses that are held by the hems and lifted above the head. It is a beautiful, graceful kind of dance.

Ana will act as Master of Ceremony, presenting each routine and describing to the audience the significance of the music, dance, and dress. She will tell the story of Women in Action, street vendors who sell what they can on Managua' streets in order to provide for their families, and how they have worked together to create projects that have drastically improved health, nutrition, and education in their community. She will also talk about the Brothers and Sisters in Reconciliation Cooperative and their sustainable living projects that Compas has been supporting in La Paz, Carazo. Segments of a Compas video will be played throughout the performance. There will also be an information table and an exhibition of gourd art from WIA's art cooperative.

This tour provides local communities with a unique opportunity for popular education about the culture and current situation in Nicaragua. It will also offer communities a chance to get involved and support this important work.

Please let Compas know at compas@turbonett.com.ni if you are interested in hosting this unique program.

Compas de Nicaragua (Friends of Nicaragua) is a New Hampshire non-profit organization that formed in the early 1990's. Compas' mission is to promote cultural exchange and improve lives through service trips and sustainable community development work in urban and rural Nicaragua.
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