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Edisca
Edisca begins with the idea that art is the most powerful tool for individual and community development, so it should be the axis of work with poor and marginalized children. However, Edisca does not limit itself to arts education, but provides integrated services in health, family, and education.
Like Axé and Colegio del Cuerpo, Edisca has learned that dance works miracles in reconstructing the bodies and the self esteem of poor and abused children. Girls and boys (traditionally the program was mostly girls, but now boys also participate) come to a dance school in one of the most prestigious neighborhoods of Fortaleza to learn “the art of dance and the art of life.” They now play an important role in the neighborhood, in the city, and in some international dance circles -- they travel regularly to Europe.
Why dance? The easy answer is that Edisca was founded by dancers. However, the most important answer is that dance rebuilds the body. Dance requires discipline, but it is not an abusive, violent discipline -- instead of controlling the body, it opens possibilities. Dance is a metaphor for life: one must work and sweat to earn something important. Finally, dance offers a different posture and pride, a body that has nothing to do with the “poor little thing” begging on the corner.
Edisca does modern dance and ballet, but it always includes some aspect of folklore and tradition, in order to teach the dancers and the public about the history and culture of Ceará.
Edisca is in a rich neighborhood, which means that students must cross the city in buses to get to dance class. So why not set up in a poor community?
- Everyone talks about the right to move and associate freely, but poor people don’t have this right, because few know how to use public transit and when the arrive in rich neighborhoods, they find themselves unwelcome. By putting the school in a rich neighborhood, Edisca teaches children that they are capable of moving and that they can ignore the rude stares of the rich.
- Rich people in Brasil want to forget that the poor exist, but Edisca is a constant reminder that there are millions of poor people in Brasil. By coming to the rich neighborhood with their dancer’s posture, these children teach the reach that poor people are not “poor little things,” but real people with real skills. In the beginning, residents resisted Edisca, but they have been converted, and now they pack every show.
- Finally, there is the issue of teaching the public. These dances teach about poverty, about art, and about Ceará, but no one would attend a show in a poor and dangerous favela. Edisca insists that the first step to teaching people should be on their own turf.
Students come from the poorest and most dangerous favelas in Recife. Their parents are mostly fishermen, maids, or unemployed. There are high rates of domestic violence and alcoholism, but fortunately drugs and gang violence have not taken over Fortaleza. By coming into a different neighborhood and meeting people from other cultures, students learn that their lives can be different.
Because of the poor quality of favela schools, tutoring is fundamental for Edisca. There are seven teachers who work with children at their own level. Education isn’t just reading and math, but “learning how to understand the world.” Students learn how to interpret dances and other arts, then they use these skills to interpret their city: What does it mean that poor people live in one place and rich people in another? What does a rich girl’s clothing mean? They also read books constantly: Edisca runs an excellent library, and there is always a line to check out books. One study showed that Edisca students read for pleasure more than most University students!
Families also participate in education. Parents come to Edisca for literacy classes and to learn job skills. When children and parents see each other working hard to improve themselves, they reinforce each other.
Most of Edisca’s funding comes from international foundations, but 18% of the budget comes from ticket sales to dance shows. Much of this money is saved in a special account in case of a national financial crisis.
Edisca serves 400 boys and girls; few have lived on the street, but most would be there if it were not for the school. There are 40 paid staff: dancers, teachers, doctors, and social workers.
Edisca
Rua Desembarcador Feliciano de Ataíde 2309
Agua Fria, Fortaleza, Ceará 60821 420
Brasil
85 278 1515
Contactos: Directora General, Dora Andrade. Director Artístico, Gilano Andrade
edisca@edisca.org.br
understanding social services for street kids in Latin America
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