In brief

Originally from the state of Santa Catarina in southern Brazil, Antonieta, a twenty-five year old dance teacher, lives in Salvador, where she studies dance at the university of Bahia (one of the most prestigious in Brazil). For two years, she has been working on a series of amazing inclusive education projects with the dance group Buscapé.

"The sense of friendship and fraternity that exists within the dance group comes from the fact that our activities are based on inclusion, trust, participation, collaboration and dialogue. The dance workshop helps young people explore their cultural and individual identities - their self image, in other words. Many hours are devoted to discussion and to awakening the body. Each adds their stone to this structure and offers their thoughts to the group.
The local popular culture weighs very heavily in the comments made by the children and teenagers. Unfortunately, they are often burdened with negative, macho, and even racist messages, which we need to highlight and change.

To start with, it was difficult to find a language that people of all ages could relate to, and that would include people with disabilities. But I finally understood that artistic language, in this case dance, had a universal dimension. One of the characteristics of the group is its curiosity in the face of new ideas, its open-mindedness, and its thirst for new experiences. That's how we forged a relationship between popular and contemporary dance. It is very rewarding and moving to see, in some of these young people, this desire to explore dance at a deeper level."

_{Antonieta Acosta / Dance teacher at the Buscapé project - Art, education and community and Damien Hazard / General Coordinator of Vida Brasil}