IN a committed effort to spread the word and contain the HIV/AIDS virus, local group ‘Dance Alive’ will be travelling to all parts of Guyana in the coming weeks to bring hope to those who are affected by HIV/AIDS and to their loved ones.

&We believe that by letting those who are infected know there is a lot to live for, is as important as knowing we will not abandon them,” Chairman of Dance Alive Mr. Eric Phillips contends.

On Friday last, the group launched 26 half-hour video-tapes that contained HIV/AIDS messages and themes and feature the Dance Alive HIV/AIDS A-Z alphabet.

The video-tapes are part of a series called “Conversations of Hope” and have been funded by the Ministry of Health.

Phillip said this is another dimension in the group’s public-private partnership approach in using ‘edutainment’ in the fight against HIV/AIDS.

He noted that Dance Alive has been around since August 2005, when it was created and funded by the Essequibo Group. Phillips said it had its major public appearance at its “Footsteps” launch at the National Cultural Centre on December 18, 2005, before some 1,200 people.

The show was support by Guyana Goldfield, Courts Guyana, King Solomon Enterprises, Mings Products & Services, GT&T, The Office of the Prime Minister, The Correia Family, The Vieira Family, Cole Facts, GT&T, North American Airlines and the Essequibo Group.

Since that time, Phillips said Dance Alive has been funded by the Centers For Disease Control, Guyana, through the Ambassador’s Fund for HIV/AIDS, and now by the Ministry of Health, through the Guyana HIV/AIDS Prevention and Control Project.

Noting that Guyana has been called the ‘Kingdom of Nature’ and the ‘Land of Enchantment’, Phillips said Guyana’s greatest wealth lies in its people and their diverse cultures - Amerindian, African, Chinese, Indian, Portuguese, Mixed and European.

Within this canopy of wealth, the greatest jewels are our Youth (and) today, our Youths are being threatened by a silent stalker, HIV/AIDS, which is the moral, medical, social, political, financial, cultural and religious challenge of our lifetime,” he posited.

We at Dance Alive are committed to fight against this disease destroying our society and hindering our sustainable development,” he assured.

HIV/AIDS destroy lives. It destroys families. It destroys communities. It destroys countries. When someone finds out they are infected, they go through a myriad of raw emotions. First there is denial because they are stunned. Then they become frightened, angry, anxious, confused, despondent and emotionally traumatized…some even become suicidal,” he declared, adding that depression and desperation are inevitable in such cases.

Phillips said the fight against HIV/AIDS is a complex and emotional battle, as well as a medical one.

Moreover, the fight against HIV/AIDS is a fight to change behaviour - this is a cultural fight,” he argued.

He also believes that HIV/AIDS has to be fought with ‘passion’ and compassion’.

Dance is both passion and compassion. Dance is the purest emotion of the heart. It is the hidden language of our soul. Dance heals and can empower individuals and communities. Dance is also self talk, an inner listening to oneself.”

It can trigger powerful images, feelings and sensations arising from the depths of our stored childhood memories,” Phillips asserted.

“Guyanese love to dance; we love to show our emotions through dance,” he posited.

We at Dance Alive plan to use the love of dance in Guyanese culture to “entertain”, “educate” and “motivate” our young people about living with vitality and hope, to be “positive” to the opportunities available and “alive” to the possibilities that result from living a healthy lifestyle”, Phillips said.

He pointed out that Dance Alive is founded on the belief that the Arts, and especially dance, have a unique power to engage young people and motivate them towards excellence across social, ethnic and economic boundaries.