Day 8 - Rebecca Davis

Rebecca Davis, a Vancouver native and Russian-trained classical ballet dancer, has a resume that is far from ordinary. She has choreographed and taught ballet in Canada, Russia, Rwanda, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Croatia, and the United States, and is currently pursuing a Masters of International Relations with a concentration in Peacekeeping. She received a degree in choreography from the Saint Petersburg Conservatory and graduated summa cum laude with a Business degree from Temple University. Last summer, she spent two months in Brcko, Bosnia-Herzegovina, developing a creative movement program for youth of diverse ethnic backgrounds focusing on the theme of reconciliation in a post-conflict country.

Three years ago, Davis founded the award-winning Rebecca Davis Dance Company, located in Philadelphia. As you might have guessed, this is no ordinary ballet company – instead it is a not-for-profit organization that uses contemporary ballet as a tool to deepen the public's knowledge of famous literary works, significant historical events, and modern social issues. And in April 2008, Davis debuted DARFUR, a powerful and engaging multi-media modern dance production based on the Emmy-nominated documentary film The Devil Came on Horseback. DARFUR is performed by a cast of ten professional dancers, as a multi-media film plays behind them. To date, DARFUR has raised $5,000 for the non-profit organization Global Grassroots, an organization which invests its resources in individuals and communities, who, despite deep social and economic hardship, offer ideas for lasting social change within Sudan. Of the conflict in Darfur, Davis has said “this is a human issue, and we all have the ability and the responsibility to make a difference. It’s my hope that no one can learn about the atrocities in Darfur without feeling a moral obligation to help.” For using her talent and capacity creatively to respond to the crisis in Darfur, we are proud to recognize Rebecca Davis as one of our 16 Leaders.

In the past several months, Save Darfur has received an influx of mail about artistic projects activists have undertaken to raise awareness about the conflict in Sudan — ranging from making jewelry to creating paintings for galleries to establishing multimedia displays. We are working to gather these together and launch a page on our website called the “Creative Community.” It will be a place both to display the terrific work of our activists and to provide inspiration for others who want to create a Sudan-related project, but aren’t sure how to start. But before we launch the page, we want to hear about your creative project! Have you done something artistic or out-of-the-box in your community to draw attention to the crisis, or do you want to? Email (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) and tell us about it.