I CAN MOVE – promoting community dance as a means of social development and peace-building

The project I CAN MOVE aims at establishing a community dance movement in different locations of the West Bank. Implemented by the NGO “YANTE – Youth, Art and Levante Kunstverein” (an Austrian arts association) in cooperation with local partners, the project uses dance as a tool via which to address specific social development obstacles like inequality, exclusion, fragmentation, and Post Traumatic Stress Disorders (PTSD).

A key component of the project is involving young people, as well as marginalized groups and women in dance and community activities. Additionally, a community centre in the city of Birzeit has been established. Next to daily dance activities and training sessions, film screenings, exhibitions, lectures, and “Live Acton Role Plays” are organized. Furthermore, a training module for students and graduates of the Faculty of Education of Birzeit University is offered, to enable local teachers to pursue these activities (as part of the education cooperation between YANTE; Birzeit University and the University for Music and Dance Köln/Germany).

The project strives to strengthen physical, emotional, social, and mental resilience by means of dancing. It also aims to contribute to the social empowerment of marginalized groups by providing participants with tools for self-expression, raising their self-esteem and body awareness and hence also strengthening their ability to empathize. This project furthermore seeks to break up stereotypes, contribute to increased gender equality, and enable social strata to communicate across the fault lines of their differences.