Refugee Youth Dance Class

The IRC Refugee High School Dance Project has partnered with Arizona State University to offer a hip hop dance class for refugee youth. Refugee high school students meet Tuesday and Thursday after school for hip hop dance classes lead by professional dance instructors. Hip hop dancing has long been a platform for minority expression and refugee youth can now build on this distinctly American foundation.  While refugee youth are learning the moonwalk, the wave, spins and freezes, among other techniques, they are actually engaging in an exciting form of physical activity and cultural expression. There will also be opportunities for community involvement through live performances.

The class also serves as an orientation to the Phoenix community. For the first class, students took the light rail downtown and learned about Phoenix’s public transportation. The students also get a chance to be on a university campus environment, as they must navigate their way through ASU’s busy downtown campus to get to the class at ASU’s Urban Research Laboratory. The class is open to all refugee high school students at Central and Alhambra High Schools. If you know someone who would like to register, please contact Alexandra Ostasiewicz at 602.433.2440 ext. 202 or at Alexandra.Ostasiewicz@theIRC.org.