Kickstarter

Hi I'm Ray, creative director for the Global Volunteer Network Charitable Trust. We want to make a documentary, and we need your help to make that happen. We want to make a feature length documentary following the KYP gumboot dancers this year as they travel to China for 3 major concerts in Hangzhou, Beijing and Shanghai. This will be the groups third time to China. On their previous two trips they have focused on workshops in schools in order to raise awareness for their home town, South Africa. This year, with a bigger group, many who have never been overseas, they will take part in more school workshops, as well as performing as one of three acts in front of thousands of people.

Stomp It Out is a documentary following this young group as they leave their home town in South Africa and travel all the way to China to take part in these three concerts. I am a big fan of the movie, Young At Heart, which follows an elderly chorus as they rehearse before a big end of year concert. If you like that film, then you will love this one. Stomp It Out will take you right to the heart of this amazing group of individuals. We want to find out about their lives, their hopes, their dreams and of course how they feel about performing in one of the most populated cities in the world. This trip is an excellent opportunity for the group to not only experience another culture and gain massive amounts of life experience, but also a chance for them to change how developing nations see Afrrica. I promise you, after seeing the group dance, you won't think of Soweto the same way again!

Soweto is where KYP is based. KYP stands for Kliptown Youth program, which acts as an after school program for children in Kliptown, one of the oldest residential districts in Soweto, South Africa. Its a pretty challenging place to live, with high unemployment, lack of schools and clinics, and high rates of HIV/AIDS and teenage pregancy. KYP offers children the support they need in order to flourish:

"Kliptown Youth Program believes that if we identify and nurture talent amongst us, help to inculcate the culture of education, then we can create positive opportunities for ourselves.  In doing so, we believe we are creating a solution to poverty; one which we can stand up and show the world that we are a force to be reckoned with.  On a continent often wrought with victimhood and a mentality that everyone deserves a handout, KYP seeks to teach its children that they deserve that which they create."

A big part of what they do at KYP is dancing, and the gumboot dancing team is just one of many groups at the centre. Gumboot dancing is a traditional South African dance that originated in the mines of Cape Town. Miners were not allowed to talk and so they developed a communication method that involved hitting their boots. Over time this developed into a performance art which involves singing and dancing whilst rhythmically slapping gumboots (rubber boots/Wellington boots). The kids on the KYP gumboot dancing team range in ages and personalities, each with their own stories. Most of the kids live in single parents households with their extended families all under one roof. The youngest of the team is Donald, a plucky little 10 year old who has already lost both of his parents and currently lives with his grandparents. They all show amazing energy and spirit considering what many would consider trying conditions.

Wouldn't it be amazing to follow Donald as he uses chopsticks for the first time? Or wouldn't it be great to follow a young girl's trials in communicating in another language? Even better, wouldn't it be inspiring to follow a group of young people as they have the adventure of their lives? Wouldn't it be amazing if we could join them?

That's exactly what we want to do, and with your help, we can make a film that will take you on an inspirational journey of discovery, endurance and hope. First we will take you to South Africa, where we will spend time with the group in their hometown. We will learn about their lives, their stories, their hopes and their dreams, and find out how they feel about performing in front of thousands of people. Then we will go with them to China and follow them as they experience China for the first time, and of course, to their final performances! Will they pull it off? What will they have learned and more importantly, what will we have learned? We believe this has the potential to be a great film, with great impact.

GVN has already pledged $50,000 to get this project up and running, and that covers two thirds of our costs. We need your help to get that last third, that last $25,000. This money will go on flights and accommodation to and from China and South Africa, as well as ongoing production costs. There are some awesome incentives to the right, which will give you some really cool benefits to being part of this film.