Mission statement:
Rebecca Davis Dance Company (RDDC) uses dance to engage and advance the lives of underserved children in post-conflict and developing countries. Each RDDC program combines dance classes with skill-building or educational workshops (such as IT, health and water sanitation lessons).
Vision: Improving Children’s Lives
RDDC aims to significantly improve the lives of children and youth in its focus countries (Bosnia-Herzegovina, Guinea, Rwanda) by equipping participating youth with a skill or knowledge base that they can leverage in the future. Dance, found at the core of each program, is used to help the children develop confidence, self-esteem and discipline. RDDC trains a few of the most talented and committed students to become dancers or teachers directly involved with RDDC programs, but ultimately, serves the vast majority of students through the educational training associated with each program.
History:
RDDC is a 501(c)3 organization based in the United States. Working closely with international partners and RDDC field staff, the organization has run ongoing youth dance projects in three focus countries : Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina and Guinea. Each program is based on a standardized model created by RDDC and then tailored to the specific needs of the at-risk population being served.
The present international orientation of RDDC is the company’s second growth phase. The company was created in 2005 with a focus on developing original, full-length contemporary ballets based on famous literary works, significant historical events and modern social issues. Read more...
Latest news:
- The Story of Moise Gakuba
Kigali, Rwanda
May 10, 2013
Eugene Dushime
“It hurts to be rejected by your proper mother two times. I spent many years on the streets looking for my mother who rejected me when I was born. I never knew that I was looking to be rejected for the second time when I met her at the Centre.” – Moise Gakuba, one of the street children in RDDC’s Rwanda program
Moise Gakuba is one of the few kids still at FidesCo who started with our program when it launched in December 2011. Moise was not interested with dance at all, but he used to attend and watch. He would then play some games or draw outside while the classes continued.
At first, we noticed that this boy was interested in drawing and reading. He was quiet and very concentrated in his books or on his paper outside the dance class. He came to live at FidesCo because he was rejected by his mother and his stepmother as a boy. He realized that FidesCo Center would become his shelter for a long time. “After I closed myself from bad people in this world, I became mature. I thought that my future would rely on what I am doing here at FidesCo. It is important how I behave according to different opportunities offered by people that I meet here,” said Moise.
