USA TOUR 2024/25

Born and raised in Uganda, Chinobay grew up in an underprivileged family, playing the instruments of local Buganda musicians who provided the soundtrack for the Kanyange king’s palace just up the hill from his house. Deeply influenced by these musicians, much of Chinobay’s earlier work featured updated versions of folk classics on the several instruments he plays. Now as a songwriter, educator and intercultural facilitator, Chinobay’s original work brings people’s stories to life to show the richness of Africa in all of its facets––not only as a backdrop for suffering.

The son of two school teachers, Chinobay’s passion for arts pedagogy as a channel for social change has led him to follow in his parents’ footsteps as an arts educator. Chinobay started his engagement with cross-cultural exchange while still in elementary school, touring Europe in 1995 and sharing the sounds of Uganda with other school children as part of the school’s cultural troupe. In 1999, UNICEF Ambassador to Uganda Michel Sidibe heard Chinobay playing and invited him to join the GEM (Girl Education Movement) initiative, a campaign to advocate for free education for girls that had been denied the opportunity to be in school. Thanks to UNICEF, Chinobay was able to participate in seminars and workshops where his music acted as a powerful tool to reach, communicate with, and educate many people in rural areas about the importance of women’s education. Chinobay’s role as UNICEF ambassador allowed him to delve into the field of social responsibility, and his music permanently shifted to socially relevant topics, with the goal of helping to improve the lives of children.

These formative international and philanthropic experiences would eventually translate into Dance of Hope where young performers from underprivileged communities and challenging backgrounds use the transformational and healing power of music by coming together to hone their craft of music, dance, and percussion, and offer workshops globally to children and families in diverse communities. In 2019 Chinobay also founded and serves as Interim Executive Director of the 501(c)3 organization World Bridge Foundation, a philanthropic endeavor dedicated to improving the livelihoods of vulnerable children

Alan has over 35 years of experience in senior management positions in a global enterprise, being an executive coach, a trainer and a consultant. He has a demonstrated track record of success coaching leaders to realize breakthrough results, utilizing his unique talent for disruptive/context shifting interactions. Alan brings a commitment to optimizing leadership performance and realizing professional fulfillment to each of his coaching clients. He can be counted on to bring joy to the client and the coaching process!

Prior to his professional coaching career Alan hired, trained and mentored over 100 managers and leaders. He successfully launched and grew several new operation centers for an international training and development company. He was known in this company as someone who could both design new products and processes as well as take failing parts of the enterprise and turn them into successes. His eye was always on the employees AND the bottom line.

Alan holds a Bachelor in Science from Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Social Inquiry. He has post-graduate training and expertise in strategic design, business management and practical philosophy. He is also a trained individual and group counselor. While Alan has deep expertise in business, he is also passionate about serving international non-profits. He gets great joy from helping them realize their missions and elevating the culture of the organization.

Gilad Babchuk has extensive experience establishing, developing and running various organizations, and has founded or co-founded over 15 social enterprises, academic programs, and NGOs both as an educator and social entrepreneur. Gilad consults several international companies and institutions in the fields of e-learning and progressive education and does business development consulting for a multi-national biotech company.

In 2012 Gilad co-founded the innovative alternative business school Groundswell and serves as its Executive Director. Groundswell pioneers a new way to support aspiring entrepreneurs and individuals who want to develop their ideas into sustainable social enterprises, taking a holistic approach to education by incubating the individual, not just the business idea, within an ecosystem of support.

Groundswell has supported the launch and growth of nearly 100 social ventures.

Lutwama Muhammed is the former Executive director at ACTogether Uganda an NGO linked to SLUM DWELLERS INTERNATIONAL and for over a decade, he has mobilized people living in informal settlements to build voices that can lead to total transformation and improvement of standards of living.

He worked with the ministry of lands, housing and urban development in Uganda, to formulate the Uganda national Urban policy, National Slum Upgrading strategy and National solid Waste management strategy.

FHe has worked with Cities Alliance and World Bank supported initiatives as a key strategist in the implementation of Transformation of Settlements of the urban poor in Uganda, Uganda Support to Municipal Infrastructure Development projects where he mobilized 100,000 slum dwellers families in 14 Municipalities to effectively participate as beneficiaries.

Mr. Lutwama has been a member of the Uganda National Urban forum - a think tank on urban issues, worked with Kampala Capital city Authority on the advisory committee on urban renewal, United Nations Development Program, UN-HABITAT and Department For International Development.

Mr. Lutwama worked as programs coordinator at MLISADA in 200, designing programs that helped to support the marginalized children in the slums and streets of Kampala

He holds a Bachelor’s degree in social work and social administration and a masters in social sector planning and management.

In 1996, Segawa Bosco was a 12-year- old orphan living on the Kampala streets with his three younger sisters. One day he saw children playing brass band music at a private school. He asked the administrators to teach him music too. They said no. He persevered, and came to the school everyday until they relented, and agreed to teach Bosco and his friends on weekends and holidays where he and eight street boys learned to play music, and within a few months they all played brass band instruments well enough to support themselves.

They found a sponsor to pay their rent for two rooms, where they stored their instruments and slept. Wanting a better life for other street children, the boys opened the relative comfort and safety of the rooms to desperate children. Bosco’s single-minded focus galvanized these children, as they pulled their lives together. They called themselves M-LISADA (Music, Life Skills, and Destitution Alleviation). This was the start of the M-Lisada Children’s Home, a highly regarded orphanage in Kampala today that has reclaimed over 400 children from the streets. The organization houses 50 children and another 80 children come in from the streets every day, for showers, food, counseling, music lessons, a safe place to play, and unqualified support.

Bosco Co-founded Dance of Hope, as a pathway for the M-LISADA children to bring their music, dance and stories to global communities.

Bagonza Herman is a Ugandan Artistic Consultant, Creative Facilitator, and Performer with experience in the areas of Classical and East African music, dance, and drama with a particular focus on supporting Youth in Development initiatives through the creative arts.

Herman has worked with In Movement: Art for Social Change, as a Music Education lead facilitator for the organization’s multidisciplinary arts education program, which was designed to empower underserved Ugandan youth by providing intensive creativity-based trainings to youth workers, teachers, counselors, social artists, and other partners in youth development.

Currently, Herman works with the Center for Creativity and Capacity Building, helping facilitators, artists and professionals on the organizational, corporate and individual levels through creative group facilitation and interactive team building activities.

He also works with M-LISADA organization, to help rehabilitate children and enhance their potential through the art of music

Since 2014, Herman has also worked closely with members of the New York University (USA) community, training and supporting twenty NYU students annually over the course of a two-week arts exchange program, culminating in the group performing a traditional dance routine on the Ugandan national stage at the end of their mini-course.

Herman earned his Bachelor of Arts degree with a concentration in Music in 2007 from Makerere University of Uganda.

A music lover, entrepreneur, adventure seeker and philanthropist at heart. Dima has a unique way of seeing opportunities and creating lasting win/win relationships. You will find Dima at a jam party he organized behind a smoking BBQ enjoying the vibes and the pleasure of bringing the local music and community together and feeding dozens of people. Dima holds Bachelor of Applied Science (Engineering) from UBC.

Working in the development and construction industry over the last 11 years, Dima has built a reputation for delivering projects on time, on budget, and of the highest quality. Being involved in construction projects as large as $160M, Dima brings business mindset, structure, execution,organization and just like the rest of our team he dreams BIG.