Help keep dance school doors open
The organisation recently lost their venue at the Transhaven Centre in Treasure Beach where they had been based for seven years.
FACED with financial woes and challenges to secure reliable funding, Jarryd Watson, dance director of Wentworth Arts and Culture Organisation (WACO), refuses to back down on their mission to keep their doors open despite the odds against the non-profit organisation.
Jarryd who is a professional dancer and performer first joined the organisation back in 2007 when he was approached by the then founder who saw him as the perfect candidate to run WACO and take it to new heights. “Upon receiving this opportunity I wanted to maintain the mission of providing the youth of Wentworth and surrounding communities with a constructive social activity in the midst of the prevailing socio-economic ills that negatively influence the youth, such as drug abuse. I appealed to the children, youth and schools in the community to be a part of this organisation that works to empower, develop, entertain and skill them in arts and culture,” he said.
Members of the arts organisations are taught visual arts, various types of dances as well as acting and performance skills. The Dance Movement is one of the most popular initiatives within the organisation and has seen dancers perform abroad for dance competitions and workshops.
The organisation recently lost their venue at the Transhaven Centre in Treasure Beach where they had been based for seven years. With the help of the community, they were able to receive a helping hand from St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Merebank, which provided them with a temporary space to dance. Securing funding to help keep the organisation going has been a daunting task for Jarryd. However, despite the major challenges the organisation experiences, their ethos to provide a platform for arts and culture education for the disadvantaged and marginalised continues. One of the goals for the youth of Dance Movement is to raise funds to get their dancers to represent South Africa at the United Dance Organisation (UDO) World Championship Street Dance Competition in England during August 2019. The group has to raise a whopping R500 000 to get 12 of their senior members selected to represent South Africa.
The community is urged to support this initiative. The WACO committee is also working tirelessly to get government funding as well as appeal to local business in efforts to get sponsorships and a permanent venue. For more on how to support the organisation contact Jarryd Watson on 082-683-9665
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