Mara Galeazzi, principal dancer with The Royal Ballet in London, created Dancing For The Children to raise and distribute funds to help children around the World.
The objects of the charity are:-
'To promote and further Education in and knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the arts of ballet, dance, music and similar arts; and to provide relief and assistance to persons suffering from illness, disease and disability and to relatives of such persons; and to advance and promote knowledge and education regarding healthcare in general and to encourage and support research into the causes of disease and illness and the discovery and development of treatments and cures therefor.'
In 2007 Mara and friends from The Royal Ballet danced charity galas in Pretoria, Cape Town, Nairobi and Mombasa. These were generously underwritten by an anonymous donor.
The objects of the charity are:-
'To promote and further Education in and knowledge, understanding and appreciation of the arts of ballet, dance, music and similar arts; and to provide relief and assistance to persons suffering from illness, disease and disability and to relatives of such persons; and to advance and promote knowledge and education regarding healthcare in general and to encourage and support research into the causes of disease and illness and the discovery and development of treatments and cures therefor.'
In 2007 Mara and friends from The Royal Ballet danced charity galas in Pretoria, Cape Town, Nairobi and Mombasa. These were generously underwritten by an anonymous donor.
“It was a very intense fifteen day experience, with two ballet performances in each city and many workshops. We were working in a very different environment, in a very different climate - very different from what we were used to at the Royal Opera House.”
The funds from those galas were distributed amongst local charities both big and small, particularly those that help under-privileged children explore the joys of dance and those that help to fight the spread of diseases, such as AIDS.
Amongst the charities and dance groups we work with are:
The funds from those galas were distributed amongst local charities both big and small, particularly those that help under-privileged children explore the joys of dance and those that help to fight the spread of diseases, such as AIDS.
Amongst the charities and dance groups we work with are:
- Moving into Dance Mophatong (Johannesburg)
- Rena le Lona Creative Centre for Children (Soweto)
- Jikeleza (Hout Bay, Cape Town)
- The Anidan organisation Kenya
- Baphumelele orphanage (Khayelitsha Cape Town)
“I really believe in this initiative,” says Mara, “I am proud to be able to help children who live a life less wealthy than we all live. We are very, very lucky living in a world of the finest things (like ballet) and I believe dance can speak a universal language and can help me and my friends from The Royal Ballet put something back into the world through workshops with the under-privileged children of this region and also generate funds for various local charities. ”I am very fond of dancing abroad with my colleagues, as we do in my own shows in Italy, ‘Mara in Motion’. We plan to return to South Africa with our Dancing For The Children concept. This is very important to me because it is part of a wider humanitarian aim. It makes me proud and fills me with emotion.
“I strongly believe in giving something back to the world and helping children. When I was eight years old I told my mother that I wanted to be a nurse – and not just a regular nurse, but a paediatrics nurse in Africa. We had studied about Africa in school and I will never forget that. My pre-teen urge to help has not dwindled and that is why it was important for me to be actively involved. So, if I can use my career to help these children, to develop their souls, that’s a project that I value and is close to my heart.”
In 2010 and 2011 Mara organised Galas at Sadler’s Wells, ‘the home of dance’, to raise funds for these charities in Africa which 'Dancing for the children ' supports.
In 2012 Mara took 'time out' to give birth to her daughter Maia !
“I strongly believe in giving something back to the world and helping children. When I was eight years old I told my mother that I wanted to be a nurse – and not just a regular nurse, but a paediatrics nurse in Africa. We had studied about Africa in school and I will never forget that. My pre-teen urge to help has not dwindled and that is why it was important for me to be actively involved. So, if I can use my career to help these children, to develop their souls, that’s a project that I value and is close to my heart.”
In 2010 and 2011 Mara organised Galas at Sadler’s Wells, ‘the home of dance’, to raise funds for these charities in Africa which 'Dancing for the children ' supports.
In 2012 Mara took 'time out' to give birth to her daughter Maia !
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Dancing For The Children is a registered charity in England & Wales No. 1117280
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