Giving Hope to Students in South Africa: How It Started
In 2017, Random Acts partnered with Giles Duley and GISH to raise funds for Dancescape, a dance school giving hope to students in rural South Africa.
Fiona Sargeant brought ballet to poverty-stricken Zolani, a small township in South Africa. She opened a ballet school called Dancescape, where children could learn the art of dance and find refuge and community in a safe and constructive way. For many years, Fiona was the pillar of Dancescape: teaching classes, feeding students, and raising money to keep the school open.
Unfortunately, Fiona learned that she had inoperable cancer, and her hope of keeping the school open for these students was in peril. Giles brought her story to Random Acts and the GISH community, and they were able to raise over $260,000 to keep the school open for many years to come. In fact, GISH and Random Acts raised so much money that the school was also able to help some of the students pursue further studies after graduation.
Though Fiona passed away in 2017, she left a legacy of freedom and hope, and we are happy to have a part in helping it continue.
Giles Duley on Giving Hope to Students in South Africa
How It’s Going:
In May 2019, Aphiwe November and Chuma Mathiso November, two talented young Dancescape students traveled to New York to train with the American Ballet Theater! Through the efforts of international teacher Kristine Elliott, these two talented dancers spent a week in New York learning to dance alongside students who are the best of the best.
“It gives me hope. I feel special when I’m doing it. If something bad happens to me, all I have to do is dance…”
Timarandarian (14 years old)
Photos on this page provided courtesy of Giles Duley and Dancescape
