DIVERSITY DANCE & THEATER
Celebrating our differences

Who We Are
Diversity Dance & Theater is an educational performing arts company composed of youths from throughout the U.S. and around the world, who volunteer a year of service to enhance community awareness of critical social issues.

Troupe members, ages 17-23, perform in public and private schools at all grade levels and at community events. They are carefully selected based on their artistic abilities and their willingness to adhere to our high standards and principles. DD&T are also trained to facilitate classroom interaction.

Since most DD&T performances are in school settings, our performance year runs concurrently with the school year (mid-September through mid-June). The year also includes special public performances at prominent theaters. The program includes an intensive training and enrichment program for the troupe, aimed at helping them hone their performing skills and to fully understand the messages they are promoting.

Our Mission
DD&T is a nonprofit performing arts company that utilizes dance and the dramatic arts to educate communities about the healing principles of unity in diversity and to inspire them to work for positive social change. DD&T confronts racism, sexism, violence, alcohol and drug abuse, as well as the needs of the poor, and promotes the importance of family support and unity among all peoples. The goal of each performance is to create an open dialog, empowering audience members to turn attitudes of apathy into enthusiasm and ignorance into understanding, fostering multiculturalism, and a respect for diversity.

The dancers are provided with room, board, and transportation, but do not receive any cash compensation for their year with the troupe. Current troupe members hail from Nepal, Togo, Mexico, Iran and Trinidad/Tobago, as well as the ethnically diverse populations of the United States, reflecting American Indian, Native Hawaiian, African-American and European heritages. These very different young people learn to work effectively in a group environment, creating and performing dance and dramatic presentations. Through this structure, DDW is both a model and a vehicle for social change.

History
From modest beginnings in a local community center operating on a shoestring budget, DD&T has grown steadily in capacity. Since its founding in 1992, the troupe has taken its message of unity in diversity to 750,000 people of all ages in schools, community centers, and performance halls. DD&T also had the privilege of performing at the opening week celebration of Benaroya Symphony Hall in Seattle, and most recently, on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial in Washington, DC. While focused geographically on the Pacific Northwest, DD&T has ranged far afield, performing for communities in California, Vermont, Nevada, New Mexico, Florida, Alaska, Texas, the District of Columbia, Germany and southwestern Canada.