Moving into Dance Mophatong

History and Background of Organisation

• Sylvia Glasser, cultural activist, started teaching racially integrated dance classes in her garage in the late 1970’s during the height of apartheid. This led to the establishment of Moving into Dance as a non-racial training organisation and dance company in 1978.
• The full-time one year Community Dance Teachers Training Course for which MIDM started in 1992 provided training and job creation for school leavers from disadvantaged backgrounds. The associated Outreach and education programmes in the townships followed.
• In 1998 the Edudance In-Service Training Programme (INSET), a programme for training school teachers in the Edudance methodology, was introduced.
• In 2000 INSET was extended to the rural areas throughout various provinces. This initiative was known as the Rural Edudance Advisory Project (REAP)
• Since 1995, Moving into Dance professional performance company has performed in Holland, Germany (1996, 1997, 2000 and 2005) the U.S.A (1998, 2004), Israel (1998), Sweden (1996, 2005, 2007) France (1996,1998, 2001) Finland (1997, 2004), Portugal (1998), Italy (2004,2005).

MIDM became a fund-raising organisation in 1984 and received Section 18A status in 1996. It is a registered Trust and Non Profit Organisation (001-291)and BBBEE compliant .

Integration was central to Glasser’s approach and she pioneered Afrofusion and Edudance:

• Afrofusion is a blending of African dance ritual and music with Western contemporary dance forms.
• Edudance is a unique, creative methodology using movement to teach school subjects/social issues.

Current Programmes

In 2011 MIDM consists of:-

• A full-time professional Contemporary African dance company of 10 dancers which presents professional dance performances nationally and internationally. Its activities are structured around an integrated programme of dance creation, performance, development and outreach in schools and community groups.
• A full-time one year Performing Arts Training Course in dance and related academic subjects as well as Oral and Written Communication, Computer Skills accredited by MAPPP Seta. Currently 22 students.
• A 2nd year Training Programme that works closely with the professional company. Currently 7 dancers.
• An Outreach programme for schools and community centres in impoverished areas in Gauteng as well as other provinces.
• Ongoing in-house arts administration and leadership training for staff
• In 2011 MIDM employs 23 full-time staff 22 of whom are black South Africans. Glasser introduced a policy that dancers should be able to administrative work, be able to think, write , talk, and teach so that many of the senior management are former dancers in the MIDM performance company. Three out of the six senior management are women.

Nyakaza o fetohe – Making a difference through dance

Working in the field of arts and culture, MIDM uses dance as a powerful force which has made a direct difference to hundreds of lives and impacted further on thousands more while presenting outstanding dance.

As stated by Anglo American Chairman’s Fund: “Moving into Dance has enriched and enlivened cultural life. Its greatest achievement, however, has been its impact on the lives of thousands of young South Africans, demonstrating the powerful influence of the arts.”