Dance for All (DFA) gives children the opportunity to experience the joy of movement while receiving a high standard of dance training. This training also empowers them with life skills, supports their personal development and opens up career possibilities. DFA is a non-profit organisation that is supported by funders, sponsors and donors.

DFA’s home base is in Athlone, Cape Town. We offer classes free of charge in the townships of Nyanga, Khayelitsha and Delft. With students ranging from the age of five to young adults. Through providing top-class training in a variety of styles, including Ballet, Contemporary, Hip Hop, African and Spanish dance, we prepare our students to become versatile dancers who have the technical skill, discipline and grounding to enter a career in the performing arts. DFA’s programmes reach approximately 1800 students.

Our mission is to provide children from challenging and low socio-economic communities with the opportunity for enjoyment, empowerment and the promotion of self-esteem through the medium of dance, as well as training professional dancers and developing a unique, indigenous dance company.

To create a sustainable platform for as many children and youths as possible from low socio-economic communities, with excellent training and life-changing opportunities in the arts, towards building professional careers for themselves in South Africa and abroad.

• Integrity
• Respect
• Drive
• Partnership

• To provide a structured extra-mural activity in the form of dance classes for children and youth in historically disadvantaged communities.
• To help each child develop by embracing the therapeutic benefits of dance, building self-esteem, confidence, creativity, and self-discipline.
• To reveal, nurture, and create opportunities for the wealth of talent and ability that exists.
• To create jobs and promote skills development.
• To provide a safe, contained and positive environment for the children.
• To grow audiences for dance in disadvantaged and rural communities.
• To train students with the talent to become professional South African dancers and choreographers.
• To develop the InSPIRAtions Youth Company as a unique, innovative, and successful dance company.

Dance for All South Africa DFA (SA) is a non-profit organization that empowers historically socio-economic children through dance training, which also enhances life skills, personal development and career opportunities.

Since its establishment 30 years ago in the townships of Cape Town, DFA has been instrumental in training thousands of children helping them not only learn contemporary ballet techniques; but to develop self-esteem, discipline and motivate them to set goals to become responsible adults who are able to create and embrace opportunities.

This is instrumental in creating positive social change.

Poverty and unstable home environments are common for most of our students. By offering an enjoyable and constructive extra-mural activity that is open to all, DFA gives children and young adults a safe space to be after school.  

DFA has been instrumental in training thousands of children helping them to not only learn various dance techniques; but to develop self-esteem, discipline and motivate them to set goals to become responsible adults who are able to create and embrace opportunities. This is instrumental in creating positive social change.

Dance for All was established in 1991 by Philip Boyd with a group of 34 students doing ballet from classrooms in Gugulethu. Initially called Ballet for All – DFA was built on the legacy of CAPAB Director David Poole, who started teaching ballet in the townships of Cape Town during the mid-1980s.

As the organisation grew, Boyd recruited more dance teachers and expanded the programme to include diverse dance styles, renaming the organisation Dance for All in 1995. Assoluta Phyllis Spira joined DFA as Assistant Artistic Director on her retirement from the stage and, until her passing in 2008, helped to build the organisation into the highly regarded school of dance it is today.

A powerful testimony to this is that at least, ±50 ‘graduates’ of the DFA programme are working professionally in the performing arts industry and other professions in South Africa and abroad.