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PALO ALTO – A group of Nicaraguan youth flipped, cheered and danced as they filled Lytton Plaza with music, energy and, as one dancer said, their passion. The Nicavangelists, orphaned males ranging in age from 7 to 27, performed three times a day over several days to whoever would pass by the plaza.
“They come from rough backgrounds,” said Jed Brien, director of Capital on the Edge, an organization that supports Nicaraguan youth, and coordinator for The Nicavangelists. “They come from poverty, and we try to help them have a bright future by giving them an education. They learn folk dancing as well as other different forms of traditional Nicaraguan dance.”
The at-risk youth come from the streets of Managua, Nicaragua, where they experienced gang violence, trafficking and prostitution. Through the program, they are provided food, housing and education, and they’re homeschooled between performances during their tours. Based on the East Coast, they head to Los Angeles on Friday to compete in a dance competition, then off to performances in Nevada and Colorado, among other states.
The group, founded by Brien, began touring in 2013 and has performed all over the United States, Europe and Central America. There are currently about 50 youth in the program. Thursday, twelve of them danced. After performing Palo de Mayo, a dance around a maypole in celebration of new life, the dancers led whomever they could find in the audience in a Tululu Pasa, a parade of sorts in which people pass under the arms of participants.
As to the group’s larger goal, “We try to teach them about having a bright future through making wise choices,” said Brien.
