MFA Dance Student Brings the Joy of Dance and Self-Understanding to His Students

Kwame Opare believes that dance is about building a community. In the slideshow above, the MFA Dance candidate from the School of Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies leads his students in a joyous dance celebration, accompanied by three African drummers.

Opare’s talents extend far beyond dance. He works with at-risk youth and challenged schools in Baltimore, using dance as a means of empowerment. In a recent TEDx Talk, Disrupting the Miseducation of African American Youth, which is also his Master’s thesis topic, Opare discusses how dance can be used as a tool to teach African American students to embrace their heritage and understand how it is relevant and connected to the person they are today. He also interns as a teacher at City Neighbors in Baltimore, an arts integration charter school.

Students from several Baltimore City public schools will be included in the culminating performance of Opare’s thesis work, which will be held at Clarice Smith Performing Arts Center in March 2013.