Dancing is a medium not only for entertainment and expression, but for the preservation and celebration of culture! Humans all around the world have danced to tell stories through melody and movement — and South Sudan Unite provides a stage for it all.
SSU hosted an open-to-the-public event called SudoNight at Bethel University in St. Paul, MN. This annual showcase features music, dancing, and traditional fashion from South Sudan. Groups practiced their acts for a whole year, crafting their colorful costumes and preparing for this night.
Youth for Greater Change, a dance group based in Nebraska and made up of middle school to high school-aged students, was one of the groups to perform, showing off their traditional dances passed on from older generations. Many of them are first or second generation South Sudanese-Americans who strive to maintain a deep, meaningful, and lively connection to South Sudan and their culture.
when Youth for Greater Change took the stage, they donned colorful skirts, beads, body paint and traditional walking staffs. The carefully plotted formation and skillfully executed rhythm matched the upbeat, drumming tempo with the flag of South Sudan waving in the background. As the dancers smiled with each step, the crowd swayed and cheered, enjoying the display of art through dance!
Youth for Greater Change was awarded the Alight-sponsored Community Outreach & Unity Grant as a warm ‘Thank You’ for their commitment to their community. The hours of practice, sincerely styled costumes, and the time it took to travel to Minnesota are a homage to the beauty and artful expression of South Sudan!
Meet Zu! Zu works on the Global Connections Team at Alight in Minneapolis. She’s American-Ugandan, but she’s spent most of her life in the Midwest. She feels fortunate to have witnessed the power of human connection and understanding that is unleashed when we simply create space to come together and share our stories.
