upcoming grant deadline: 05/15/2024
Cleonice will offer an Afro-Brazilian dance residency program at Northeast High School. Using dance as an abstract yet supremely powerful medium, Cleonice, who was born in Salvador, Bahia, will work with American-born, Brazilian youth to connect them with their African origins. In biweekly sessions, she will help students recognize their cultural history and celebrate their Afro-Brazilian identities and heritage – with the project culminating in a final, public performance for the community. Cleonice hopes to reach the hearts and minds of youth and change their perceptions of who they are and who they can become both in the U.S. and Brazil.