Our History
For seven years, Ballet Manguinhos has been present in a vulnerable and full of inequality territory – where it meets the needs of children, teenagers and young people who live at Manguinhos. As a form of giving back the great support she received from social projects, the director of BM, Daiana Ferreira, started her trajectory of opening a door to new opportunities inside this neighborhood. From the experience she has acquired for being a ballerina, a choreographer and a ballet teacher, Daiana has created a training project which has given a new purpose to the residents of Manguinhos by dance teaching and by stimulating a reading habit.
Today, Ballet Manguinhos has 250 students being directly benefited by the project and another 500 in the queue for a spot in it. We have the assistance of our team and the confidence from the guardians of our students; The Secular Society (TSS) providing us sponsorship; and Fiocruz Workers’ Union (Sindicato dos Trabalhadores da FioCruz – ASFOC-SN) to support our project. Because of them, we live, day by day, to make dreams come true and to make room for changes through art, culture and education within Manguinhos and its surroundings.
“We intent to empower the trajectories of these children, teenagers and young people through art and through understanding the importance of reading as a present choice for their lives. Dance, for us, is an element of socialization. It expands awareness, provides freedom and teaches citizenship. Art is seen as a different path and an agent for new opportunities of life.”
DAIANA DOS SANTOS – GENERAL DIRECTOR