Uganda’s Dance of Hope Visits Taos Day School

While on a tour through the United States from Uganda, Dance of Hope stopped in Taos, New Mexico, on Sept. 18, 2023, and brought music, dancing and language to the Bureau of Indian Education-operated Taos Day School. 

Dance of Hope is a global service-learning organization, with students from Uganda traveling for three to five months each year, visiting schools and teaching children in kindergarten through 12th grade about their culture. 

“Bringing artisans into the school empowers students. It makes teachers and staff smile! For a few hours, we all get to dream and say, ‘One day, I too will be able to take my dreams and share them with my community.’ What better place to showcase the arts then in a school?” said TDS Principal Andrew Haimowitz. 

Dance of Hope spent approximately an hour with the kindergarten through 2nd graders and two hours with the 3rd through 8th graders. Throughout the interactive presentation and performance, the Taos Day School students learned to sing a song in another language, dance a traditional dance and play an instrument. 

Principal Haimowitz seized the opportunity for his students to experience part of another continent’s culture and combine it with their curriculum. 

“We just really like bringing in community – outside agencies, artists, artisans, just so you increase the general field of knowledge,” he said. “The students see how immense talents are in this world, how arts are part of education, how languages are part of education. That sometimes gets ignored and put in as add-ons to curriculum instead of being blended into curriculum.” 

Dance of Hope began the day early with the Taos Day School students, intermingling and discussing the similarities and differences in their lives. They talked about Ugandan drums made with hides of goatskin, native species like gorillas and much more. 

“The visitors were very quick to join our kids at the breakfast table and talk with them about where they come from and what things are like where they live in Africa,” said TDS Lead Teacher Claireen Espinoza. 

During the interactive performances, both students and staff smiled and found the presentations captivating. 

“It was very moving, even from just the beats of the drum,” she said. “We wish we would have had more time with them.” 

Haimowitz invited Dance of Hope knowing the experience would present opportunities for comradery his students might otherwise miss. 

“We saw how quickly the connections were made in a day – in a two-hour program, in a one-hour program for elementary school – and how kids gravitated to kids. And in the Bureau, we need more connections of kids traveling to other Native communities and making connections with kids,” he said. 

Taos Day School recently celebrated its success with BIE’s new Strategic Transformation of Education Plan, which updates the school’s technology and creates an easy pathway for digital learning. Principal Haimowitz plans to utilize their upgrades to provide virtual opportunities for engagement with other communities near and far.