about us
MISSION
Through the power of Dance, Music and Culture
Our mission is to make space for every Body, every day to Move, Create and Connect as an inclusive, diverse community.
our partners
Acknowledgement
Jungle City acknowledges the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation as the Traditional custodians of the land of which we have the privilege to dance on in Naarm (Melbourne), and all First Nations people whose lands we have danced and performed on, or may do so in the future. We pay our respects to their elders, past, present and emerging and acknowledge that sovereignty was never ceded. We pledge our commitment to ‘pay the rent’ to Aboriginal people in Victoria by contributing 2% of our monthly profits to https://paytherent.net.au/
Who We Are
We represent a team of highly skilled, versatile dancers and arts practitioners who perform and teach with knowledge and respect for the roots and culture of the dance we practice. Our team have years of experience in their respective dance forms. Some members originate from where the dance forms were created, while others have trained over many years with the dance creators in the communities of origin.
bring our team to your community
What we Do
- Dance courses & programs for all ages and levels
- Fitness dance classes online & outdoors
- Private lessons and Dance therapy
- School incursion & community outreach
- Entertainment services & live performance
- Choreography, casting, creative consultation
- Events & Cultural dance tours
- Mentorship & community arts projects
The dance forms we practice include Jamaican Dancehall, Afro Dances and Hip Hop. We acknowledge and inform our students and audiences about the roots and culture behind the dances we practice. We see our ability to learn and share these dance forms as a privilege and one that must always be done respectfully.
How we do it
Jungle City is a leader in community focused dance practice, offering an alternative to the mainstream, centering our practice around cultural and social dance forms that stem from African roots.
We believe these dance forms offer the tools that can go beyond just artistic expression and performance to also support our mental health and wellbeing, improve our social connections, initiate personal, collective and spiritual growth, and has the power to create real, positive social change.
How It Started
Cat Pwiti aka Kitty Cat, the founding director of Jungle City started this ever evolving project back in 2005 centered around the idea of creating social change for young people in the west of Melbourne through the arts. Growing up as a second/third generation Greek Cypriot/Irish in multi-cultural St Albans, Cat often witnessed social inequality, and discrimination inflicted on her peers from diverse cultural backgrounds, and so an awareness of social injustice was there from an early age, and instigated a life path dedicated to pushing boundaries for positive change. From as young as 9 years old, Hip Hop and Reggae music and dance was an outlet for Cat to find inspiration and motivation to push harder and follow her dreams. The power of music and dance was an integral part of Cat’s journey, and planted the seeds for what would finally be the incarnation of Jungle City – an evolving and adaptive project utilizing the power of dance to create social change toward equality and unity within our beautifully diverse community.
Over the past 15 years Jungle City has transformed from a Hip Hop youth program at Footscray Community Art Centre, to a multicultural female youth dance crew supported by FCAC and Maribyrnong City Council, then into an adult all female dance team, and for the past five years, became a physical space where hundreds of people had the opportunity to call their home away from home, along with many local dance communities who shared our space.
Unfortunately though, as a consequence of the lockdowns and restrictions on creative spaces in Melbourne that lasted for almost seven months, Jungle City at Hope Street in Brunswick closed its doors permanently on October 18th 2020. Although our space did not survive this tragic time in Melbourne, we are now excited to be embarking on our next journey and incarnation as Jungle City projects, as we slowly shed our old skin and begin to emerge in 2021 with a fresh outlook and deeper purpose for what we do and how we do it.
We welcome you to be part of this new journey through a multitude of platforms and opportunities for healing, learning, creating, engaging and connecting.
Alumni of Jungle City’s projects include many young artists, dancers, models, actors, and filmmakers making waves today including; Rap artist P-Unique @itsmequeen.p, Super model Winnie @winnniy, Filmmaker Ezeldin Deng @ez_eldin_deng, Filmmaker Kim Summer @mills_and_boom, Dancehall King of Australia 2016 Wizdom @wizdomdancer, Film director Awak Rech Kongor @awak_k, and Fashion designer Maima @maima_o just to name a few.
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