Move the World Dance Activism, is a teen dance company that creates vibrant dance works to ignite social awareness, action and change for charitable causes.
For the past five years, under the direction of founder and choreographer Cecilie Stuart, this Topanga teen dance company has been performing locally at the Topanga Days Memorial Day Parade, Topanga Elementary School, Manzanita School, The Broad Stage in Santa Monica and New Roads School.
Most recently, they performed their powerful and moving piece, “More Oceans, Less Plastics,” at the KIDZ Earth Day event at Rosewood in Topanga and performed for 300 students and faculty at Mariposa School of Global Education in Agoura Hills, CA. The dance highlights the plight of our oceans and the plastic pollution epidemic the world is currently facing.
Along with dancing, this non-profit organization advocates for social causes to impact local and global challenges. For example, as part of their presentation on Earth Day, the teens encouraged their audience to bring refillable water bottles, metal straws for drinks (swap out plastic straws!) and bamboo utensils and to make every day Earth Day by bringing mesh bags to Farmer’s Markets, or wherever you shop, to reuse recyclable glass jars for storage and bring your own glassware containers for leftovers at restaurants and take out.
For teens, ages 9-21, who want to dance and activate, dance classes are offered three times weekly at Manzanita School during the school year, with summer intensives planned at other venues.
Move the World invites teens (and their supportive parents) to “join our ECO REBELS team and become a force for the Eco Revolution, waking people up about Plastic Pollution Solutions. “
Move the World is currently looking for a grant writer to expand our local programs, as well as a college-age intern eager to learn how to run a non-profit.
For more information: www.movetheworld.com or (310) 871-0061.
Editor’s Note: Look closely at the May 9 cover of the Messenger Mountain News. Urs Baur’s cover design was inspired, as were we, by the powerful photograph of Move the World’s performance on Earth Day you see in the background.
By Paige Parsons Roache