UC ARTS is a not-for-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization that seeks to unify world cultures and promote healing through the arts. Our services include cultural exchange experiences in Brazil, dance and drumming classes for youth and adults, and cultural performances.

UC ARTS Youth Empowerment Program
Our Youth Mission:   We seek to address the increasing national epidemic of childhood obesity by providing after school cultural dance and drumming classes that motivate youth to be more physically active. Our classes offer four basic components: Goal Setting, Drumming, Dance, and Performance. See below for photos and video of classes and performances.

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Promotional DVD	UC ARTS in the News

	Photo Albums
	(pdf) Size: 448kb	Dance Class	Drum Class	School Performances	San Francisco Carnaval

Videos
Drum Performance	Dance Performance	Performance for Noble Peace Laureate	Carnaval 2006

UC ARTS Directors
Artistic Director: Gamo Da Paz
A third generation Master Drummer from Bahia, Brazil, Gamo Da Paz has over 27 years of training in various drumming traditions. An accomplished recording artist and teacher, Gamo has taught and performed in the U.S. and internationally in France, Switzerland, Italy, Germany, and Japan. As a health educator, Gamo has taught the art of drumming as a means of stress reduction at Stanford University, and has provided lecture demonstrations at the California Institute of Integral Studies, UC Davis, and Stanford University. As a Master Drummer of the Candomble tradition, Gamo is one of the few drummers who plays ceremonial and healing rhythms in the most renowned religious houses in Brazil and internationally. He offers his wealth of expertise to the design and implementation of our drumming classes.

Executive Director: Nikko S. Thompson
A Stanford graduate, Nikko has fundamental training in ballet, modern, and jazz dance. She has taught dance as part of the Stanford University Health Improvement Program and has choreographed productions for Kuumba Dance Ensemble, a student-run Dance Ensemble at Stanford University. Nikko has also taught choreography at the University of Ghana in West Africa while living there for two years completing a Master's degree and compiling research on Traditional African dance. While serving as a Project Manager for obesity prevention youth studies at Stanford University, Nikko helped to design and implement after school dance classes to over 500 youth at schools and community locations in northern California. The UC ARTS Youth Empowerment Program is a direct result of this research and program design.

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