Voices of Change:
​How I Find Light in the Darkness

This interactive session will challenge participants to focus on the issues in their lives that make their blood boil. Together, they will collaborate through the arts to create performances that actively advocate for the issues most important to them

Voices of Change (VOC) is a program of Stage the Change. VOC's mission is to bring young people from disparate communities together, challenging them to find their similarities, celebrate their differences and define their voice through the arts to actively create change in the world.

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Presented by...

Oya Bangura (she/her) is originally from West Africa, Sierra Leone. Her early dance training was received at The United Nations International School and as a scholarship student with Jacques d’Amboise and his National Dance Institute before heading to Boston University. Oya has appeared at Madison Square Garden’s Felt Forum, Avery Fisher Hall, Alice Tully Hall, Lincoln Center’s Outdoor Festivals, American Ballet Theatre, Brooklyn Academy of Music, and the Rodotto and Fenice. She has performed as the Principal choreographer/ dancer/actor in an Off Broadway production written, directed and produced by Jahidah Diaab. She is a proud PEACE Project Cultural Partner, supporting equitable and impactful arts education in Long Island schools through College, Career, and Civic Readiness (CCCR) and Culturally Responsive-Sustaining education (CR-S). Oya holds an MA in Dance Education from NYU Steinhardt, specializing in Dances of the African Diaspora, and is pursuing an Advanced Certification in K–12 Dance Education. She is also the Co-Founder of Project MOVE, an Arts in Education organization dedicated to nurturing future leaders and uniting communities through the arts. www.projectmoveny.org  

Elise May, (she/her) an independent Teaching Artist, actor, singer, and writer, has performed and taught in the U.S. and internationally. Her original award-winning Arts-in-Education programs use theater arts for communication empowerment and community development with all populations. Elise is the Program Developer and Director of Storytime Theater, Expressive Elocution, Multicultural Voices, Creative Readers (winner of the 2017 National Arts and Humanities Youth Program Award) Landmark Radio Theater, and Theater for Dessert. Currently President of the Board of Stage the Change, Elise has presented at many conferences including Lincoln Center's Curriculum for Change Conference, ITAC4, Arts for All Abilities Consortium and NYSTEA Educator and Student Conferences.  www.storytime-theater.com