Teaching HIV Prevention with Music, Dance

Over the coming months, the AIDS group Philadelphia FIGHT’s Youth Health Empowerment Project (Y-HEP) will be partnering with the Netherlands-based “dance41ife” program to teach HIV prevention skills at local schools and youth organizations.

The dance41ife program’s four components are “heart connection,” a tour that encourages participation through music, dance, drumming, and education; “skills4life,” a workshop where participants learn about HIV; “act4life,” which fosters volunteer involvement; and “celebrate4life,” held biannually on the Saturday before World AIDS Day, when participants around the world are linked via satellite for a dance party. Dance4life is active in 28 nations.

“Dance41ife is effective because it breaks down the inhibitions to learning, helps young people remember the importance of HIV prevention, and is fun,” said Doutzen Kroes, a Victoria’s Secret model, speaking at the dance41ife-USA launch at Philadelphia’s City Hall.

“What we have found with dance41ife, more than any other program designed to help reach young people [transitioning] into adolescence, is that this has been the most successful,” said Jane Shull, executive director of Philadelphia FIGHT.

Last April, Philadelphia’s Department of Public Health launched a new effort to prevent STDs among city youth. Of youths testing HIV-positive at city STD clinics, 47 percent had previously been diagnosed with gonorrhea, chlamydia or syphilis, said Donald F. Schwarz, city health commissioner.

The Friends of AIDS Foundation is dedicated to enhancing the quality of life for HIV positive individuals and empowering people to make healthy choices to prevent the spread of the HIV virus. To learn more about The Friends of AIDS Foundation, please visit: http://www.friendsofaids.org.

TOGETHER WE REMAIN STRONG!