United States of America

Student Partnerships Worldwide USA (SPW), based in Washington, DC, is the dance4life NCO in the USA. SPW is an international, youth-led development agency that trains peer educators to work in rural communities in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. SPW is working with national partners, Metro TeenAIDS (MTA) and Red Zebra, to implement the dance4life USA program. dance4life USA is piloting the program in Washington, DC in 2008 and is targeting 10 public schools in the city that reach low-income and underserved communities.
• Involving at least 5,000 students from these schools to be active agents of change.
• Raising funds and gathering support to implement and sustain the program.
• Expanding to other US cities, following a successful pilot.

The 2008 event is for participants of the dance4life schools program only, with an expected attendance of over 500 young people. Hosted by Steve Connell, from HBO’s Def Poetry, the event will take place on November 29th from 10am to 2pm at the 9:30 Club located at 815 V St. NW, Washington, D.C. 20001. Other confirmed performances and appearances include the Boogie Bots from MTV’s America’s Best Dance Crew, WNBA players Crystal Langhorne and Jessica Moore, Emmy Award winning AIDS activist Marvelyn Brown, musical DJ’s George Acosta, Kaskade, and Kylexi, recording artists Mambo Sauce and Nick Hakim, as well as local dance company Life, Rhythm, Move Project. Other national organizations that are active partners with dance4life USA are Metro TeenAIDS (MTA) and Red Zebra.