8th of February 2016, Where it all started….. i2 international education in Nanning. This was our first experience sharing our love for dance in China. From dance classes, workshops, events, lectures and performing we had a wide range of things to keep us busy. Life is filled with all kinds of different opportunities however you will not always be able to see them let alone take action. Developing your awareness and educating oneself is key! Through education, you will be able to become more knowledgeable and able to grasp the opportunities that present itself. Not only are we teaching dance, a universal language, but also are we sharing our life experiences to broaden our student’s perspective and in turn change their reality of what is possible to achieve.
Our students were adorable say the least. Lovely, energetic and eager to learn dance, the language barrier was absolutely not an issue nor has it been with other projects we have done around the world. Emotions, rhythm, and physical movements are all universal. We love to play with all sorts of music and styles of dance and find the best suitable style for our students. Learning becomes most effective when it is enjoyed. Thus this is one of our top priorities.
When we arrived at i2 they did not have a dance department yet. We were the first ones to help them set this up. Through frustrating and joyful moments, we feel we have done our best to accomplish our goals. China is a huge country with an incredible amount of people inhabiting it. Just staying in one city was not going to work for us. We needed to meet more people, learn more about the culture and most of all spread more awareness on art & dance. After we finished our one year contract we decided to start our own dance collective. Meraki Dance Collective was born!