There are no foreign language requirements to attend an international dance exchange. You will have a 24/7 guide who speaks both English and the language of the host country.

Our exchanges are all volunteer based, meaning that the experience is paid for by our participants who are volunteering their time and resources to attend our exchanges. Many participants host in person and online fundraisers, apply for grants, and save for long amounts of time to cover the cost of our programs. Part of the program fee to attend an exchange also helps cover our sustainable year-round dance programming in Panama.

The only requirement for attending an international dance exchange is a passion for dance and a desire to spread the joy of movement. Volunteers of all dance backgrounds are welcome to participate in an international dance exchange and are invited to teach their speciality. In addition to teaching, volunteers will be exposed to various styles including folkloric, aerial, salsa, and contemporary.

Teaching experience is not required before attending an international dance exchange. During our discussions, we will be reviewing teaching methods and curriculum planning to provide you with the resources you need to be a successful dance educator.

No! Anyone over the age of 15 is able to join! High school students, university students, graduate students, dance educators, and professional dancers have attended exchanges in the past. No matter your dance background, you are invited to join the exchange.

We usually host between 10-20 dancers on each international dance exchange.

You will be teaching youth ages 4 to 18 years old in a variety of orphanages, youth foundations, and arts foundations with about 20-40 students at each organization. Many of the youth we work with are HIV positive, disabled, come from abusive homes and/or have little or no family.

This depends on your background and interests. The youth are receptive to almost anything, provided you make it fun. Past classes have included ballet, jazz, chinese ribbon dance, belly dancing, modern, and capoeira.

Yes! Thanks to your program donation, we have started three dance education programs at two orphanages and one youth foundations and employ local dance instructors to teach these weekly dance classes. Movement Exchange is committed to creating a sustainable impact and ensuring our students receive year-round dance education.

Absolutely! Visit this page for more information on organizing a group international dance exchange. You’ll need a group of at least 10 people and you can pick any 8-days throughout the year. Email us at info@movementexchanges.org and we would be happy to tell you more about this process.

In our Pre-Departure Handbook, you can find information about Panama, safety, and how to prepare for the international dance exchange.

There are two ways to get a chapter started at a university. One is that you can create a student registered club on campus that has an e-board of students who run the club, a faculty advisor, and you run the chapter as an independent student organization. The other way is to have a faculty member lead a course for credit focused around dance pedagogy, dance and social justice, or other topics and have Movement Exchange be a part of that course. We have a few universities who follow this model and often go to Panama on their Spring Break, but spend the year prior to that learning, prepping, and planning. For more information, send us an email at info@movementexchanges.org.