of working to expand YEARS 20 LESSONS FROM
with a majority of Black people. Boyd taught in an environment where rac- ism, poverty, AIDS, violence, and shattered families defined the expe- rience of most young people. Dance for All’s work inspired me. Afterward, I wrote to Philip asking how I could help. Gugulethu became the first township I visited and taught in. Under the racial segregation of apart- heid, Black people were forcibly relo- cated from their homes to undeveloped land. Gugulethu, established in 1962, means “Our Pride” in Xhosa. Witness- ing the spirit of people who were able to create a place to call their home out of nothing and call it “our pride” deeply impacted me. I began the work that a few years later I would call Gugulethu Ballet Project and formalize into a nonprofit organization. In the years since, I’ve expanded our work, teaching and provid- ing support to dancers and schools in many other townships: Zolani, Khayelitsha, Eersterivier, Ugie, and McGregor. Yet the ‘Gugulethu’ in our name remains, symbolic of all townships in South Africa and at the heart of our work: building pride through dance. Those of us who love the art form of ballet recognize its positive impact on practitioners: young students and adults alike can benefit from ballet’s lessons of personal discipline, respect for oneself and others, artistic expres- sion, resilience, and focus. We also recognize where it falls short: schools, companies, and stages are not as racially diverse as the world around us, and dancers from racially minori- tized backgrounds face the constant discrimination and inequality of struc- tural racism. Changing these dynamics requires action, a willingness to listen and learn, and an open heart. On the 20th anni- versary of this crucial work, I’d like to share some lessons from my ongo- ing work to provide opportunity and broaden horizons in the dance world.
(Former) LEAP student Keelan Whitmore teaching at Zama School in Gugulethu
by KRISTINE ELLIOTT access to ballet
PHOTO BY HECTOR ZAVALA
IN 2004, I ATTENDED A SCREENING of the documentary Gugulethu Ballet created by Kristin Pichaske, a film student at Stanford University where I was teaching in the dance division. Little did I know this film would launch me on a mission to which I would dedicate the next 20 years of my life. The film focused on former ballet dancer Philip Boyd, who had founded Dance for All, a ballet school pro- viding dance training to disenfranchised children in the impoverished townships surrounding Cape Town. In 1991, during the apartheid regime, Boyd went into the townships to teach ballet because he recognized that there were no Black dancers on the stage in a country
Kristine Elliott sharing a bow at Dancescape Zolani South Africa
Nathan Bartman teaching in Zolani at Dancescape
WINTER 2025 in dance 27
In Dance | May 2014 | dancersgroup.org
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