Dance and the Child International

What Dance and the Child International does

Dance and the Child International (daCi) is an international, volunteer-governed nonprofit membership association that promotes dance education for children and young people (ages birth to 18, with a SpringBoard extension to age 25). Founded in 1978 at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada, and constitutionally established in Stockholm in 1982, daCi currently operates from Canada with 20 national/regional chapter representatives across Australia, Barbados, Brazil, Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Japan, Malaysia, New Zealand, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden, Taiwan, Uganda, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

daCi's offering is anchored by a flagship triennial international conference (the 16th edition 'I-Body, I-Dance' was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia in July 2024, with the 17th scheduled for UPSI, Malaysia in July 2027), supported by four named initiatives: Twinning Projects (transnational collaborations), Outreach Projects (residencies), Research Projects, and the SpringBoard youth pipeline. The supporting technology stack is a conventional web-publishing and community-management infrastructure: a public website at daci.international, a members-only library and 'daCi Connect' interactive platform for member profiles and group forums, Wild Apricot membership management hosted at York University for dues and donations, and the historical daCi Archives catalogued at the National Resource Centre for Dance (NRCD) at the University of Surrey.

daCi is funded through four interlocking revenue streams: (1) annual membership dues across four tiers (Individual, Group, Institutional, Unwaged/Retired/Student) priced by country economic parity; (2) donations processed online; (3) triennial conference registration fees (e.g., Adults $475 CAD, Students/Retired $225 CAD, Children/Youth $175 CAD at the 2021 Toronto edition); and (4) grants and sponsorships, most notably from the Cooper-Newell Foundation which underwrites the Twinning, Outreach, and Research Project funds of up to $5,000 CAD each. Three consecutive daCi Declarations (Copenhagen 2015, Adelaide 2018, Ljubljana 2024) have been presented to and accepted by UNESCO, anchoring daCi's positioning as a UNESCO-recognized voice for children's right to dance.

Name

Dance and the Child International

Legal name

Dance and the Child International

Website

https://daci.international

Company type

Private

Founded year

1978

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Dance and the Child International (daCi) is a volunteer-run, Canada-based nonprofit membership association (founded 1978) that promotes dance education for children and young people across 20 national chapters through a triennial international conference, Twinning/Outreach/Research project grants funded by the Cooper-Newell Foundation, and UNESCO-endorsed Declarations on children's right to dance.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Canada (registered base)

HQ country

Canada

HQ region

North America

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Membership Dues: Annual membership fees collected from Individual, Group, Institutional, and Unwaged/Retired/Student members. Fees are calculated for country economic parity according to international data. Members are billed via the online Wild Apricot system at York University.
2. Donations: Online donations from individuals, businesses, and philanthropists, facilitated through the daCi website and the Wild Apricot platform. Includes annual giving campaigns and targeted fundraising drives.
3. Conference Registration Fees: Registration fees for the triennial international daCi conference (e.g., 2021 Toronto: Adults $475 CAD, Students/Retired $225 CAD, Children/Youth 18 and under $175 CAD, Group Chaperones $125 CAD, Daily Rate $125 CAD). The 2027 conference will be held in Malaysia.
4. Sponsorship and Corporate Partnerships: Sponsorship and donations from individuals, businesses, corporations, and organisations that align with daCi's mission, including customised sponsorship packages that provide sponsors visibility, recognition at events, and corporate social responsibility opportunities.
5. Grants and Philanthropic Gifts: Grant applications submitted to foundations, government agencies, and international/philanthropic organizations. Also includes endowments, bequests, and legacy gifts from supporters, as well as fundraising events such as daCi Day fees, performances, and auctions.
6. Project Grants Disbursement Support (Cooper-Newell Foundation): daCi's Research, Outreach, and Twinning Project initiatives (up to $5,000 CAD per project) are partially supported by grants from the Cooper-Newell Foundation, with all funded projects required to credit this support in public mentions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Dance and the Child International (daCi) is an international nonprofit membership association that promotes dance education for children and young people (ages birth to 25) through a triennial international conference, a four-tier membership program (Individual, Group, Institutional, Unwaged/Retired/Student), and three recurring project funding streams — Twinning Projects, Outreach Projects, and Research Projects — each providing up to $5,000 CAD to daCi members for cross-cultural dance collaborations. Supporting offerings include the SpringBoard initiative for young dancers aged 18-25, a members-only digital library and networking platform (daCi Connect), conference proceedings publications, and the historical daCi Archives housed at the University of Surrey (UK).

Product overview

Dance and the Child International (daCi) is a non-profit international membership organization (founded 1978 in Edmonton, Canada; constitution ratified 1982 in Stockholm, Sweden) that delivers its offering as a unified community program anchored by its flagship triennial daCi International Conference and supported by a portfolio of named initiatives (Twinning Projects, Outreach Projects, Research Projects, and the SpringBoard youth initiative). These initiatives connect through daCi's online infrastructure, which includes the daCi Membership Program (administered via the Wild Apricot platform) and the daCi Library (a members-only digital archive and networking hub via daCi Connect). Supporting resources include the daCi Archives at the National Resource Centre for Dance (NRCD) at the University of Surrey, daCi Conference Proceedings, a Publications Catalogue (e.g., 'Critical Activism for Dance Education' and 'Dance Education Around the World'), and policy frameworks including the 2024 Ljubljana Declaration and the Rights of the Child Declarations. Together, these products and services form a global platform for dance educators, young dancers, researchers, and artists across 20+ represented countries to collaborate, publish, and advocate for every child's right to dance.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• daCi Twinning Project: An initiative enabling daCi members to collaborate on transnational Twinning projects that build cross-cultural knowledge of children's/youth dance; grantees receive up to $5,000 CAD and present at the triennial daCi conference.
• daCi Outreach Project
• daCi Research Project
• daCi SpringBoard
• daCi Ljubljana Declaration

Products and services

• daCi International Conferences (Triennial Congress) A major international conference held every three years in a rotating host country, assembling dance educators, teachers, young dancers, artists, academics, researchers, and politicians to experience dance as creators, performers, researchers, participants, and spectators. The 16th edition was held in Ljubljana, Slovenia (July 2024) and the 17th is scheduled for Tanjong Malim, Malaysia (15-20 July 2027).
• daCi Membership Program A four-tier membership program (Individual, Group, Institutional, and Unwaged/Retired/Student) with country-economic-parity fee calculation, managed online via Wild Apricot at York University. Benefits include subscription to daCi newsletters, access to daCi journal articles since 1978, eligibility for grants and scholarships, networking, voting rights, and use of daCi Connect for profile creation and global member engagement.
• Twinning Projects An initiative enabling daCi members from different countries to collaborate on a transnational dance project at least one year before meeting at a triennial daCi conference, fostering creative and choreographic exploration, cross-cultural exchange, and building a cross-cultural knowledge base of children's/youth dance. Funded up to $5,000 CAD (minimum guarantee $1,000 CAD) via the daCi Twinning Project Fund with support from the Cooper-Newell Foundation.
• Outreach Projects An initiative enabling daCi members (host and applicant) to invite a dance teacher/educator (invitee also a daCi member) to visit their community/country to facilitate a dance teaching and learning residency, promoting access to authentic dance experiences, exchange of ideas, and sustainability. Funded up to $5,000 CAD via the daCi Outreach Project Fund.
• Research Projects An initiative enabling daCi members to collaborate on an international Research Project focused on important themes related to children's/youth dance, promoting cross-cultural research, knowledge generation, and exchange across national, regional, and cultural borders. Funded up to $5,000 CAD (minimum guarantee $1,000 CAD) via the daCi Research Project Fund with support from the Cooper-Newell Foundation.
• daCi SpringBoard An initiative designed to bridge the gap between young people (dance graduates aged 18-25) who participate in daCi conferences as dancers and adult daCi members who participate as presenters and facilitators. Selected candidates receive conference fees and travel costs to attend the upcoming international congress over a 3-year term.
• daCi Library (Members-Only Library and daCi Connect) A members-only online library requiring a separate user account, providing exclusive access to daCi journal articles dating from the founding conference in 1978, conference proceedings, daCi Connect for profile creation and group forums, members marketing toolkit, and member resources.
• daCi Archives A catalogued archival collection housed at the National Resource Centre for Dance (NRCD) at the University of Surrey, England, preserving daCi's history since 1978. Divided into papers, periodicals, books, audio, film, video/DVD, photographs, posters, theatre programmes, and computer-based materials. Catalogue records are publicly available at surrey.ac.uk/NRCD.
• daCi Conference Proceedings Published academic proceedings from daCi triennial conferences, including 2022 'Dancing into Communities' (York University), 2018 'Panpapanpalya' (Adelaide, joint with WDA), 2015 'Twist and Twin: Exploring identities in dance' (Copenhagen, Ausdance), and 2012 'Dance, Young People and Change' (Taipei, first joint daCi/WDA summit).

Quantifiable outcome

• 20 countries/regions represented on the daCi Advisory Board
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerUPSI in Tanjong Malim, Malaysia, through its Faculty of Music and Performing Arts, the National Child Development Research Center, the Faculty of Human Development, and in partnership with the Department of National Unity and Integration Malaysia, is hosting the daCi 2027 International Conference (15-20 July 2027). UPSI also hosted the daCi Interim Meeting and Workshop (10-15 July 2025), supported by UNESCO. Conference theme: 'Dance education for all: Creating Inclusive Spaces for Children and Young Learners.'
• World Dance Alliance (WDA)flagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerWDA has co-organized two joint world congresses with daCi: the 2012 Global Dance Summit in Taipei, Taiwan ('Dance, Young People and Change') and the 2018 Panpapanpalya joint congress in Adelaide, Australia (over 900 participants from 26 countries). The partnership is the deepest international alliance in daCi's history.
• UNESCOflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerdaCi's declarations (2015 Copenhagen, 2018 Adelaide, 2024 Ljubljana) have been presented to and accepted by UNESCO. The 2024 Ljubljana Declaration refers to the UNESCO 2024 Framework for Arts and Cultural Education (Abu Dhabi). UNESCO supported the daCi Interim Meeting and Workshop at UPSI Malaysia in July 2025. daCi aligns its activities with UNESCO's Sustainable Development Goals and the UNESCO Seoul Agenda.
• University of Surrey - National Resource Centre for Dance (NRCD)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Surrey's NRCD houses and curates the official daCi archives spanning from 1978. Catalogues are publicly available at surrey.ac.uk/NRCD. Special archivists (Helen Roberts, Simon Mackley) have been recognized by daCi for their diligent work supporting the organization.
• York University (Canada)coreTechnology or IntegrationYork University hosts the Wild Apricot membership management system used by daCi to process online membership dues and donations (yorkuniversity.wildapricot.org), and has published the 2022 'Dancing into Communities' conference proceedings via YorkSpace. York University was also the original in-person host of the 2022 daCi Toronto conference.
• Ausdance National (Australian Dance Council)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerAusdance National hosts daCi's conference proceedings online, including the 2018 Panpapanpalya (Adelaide) and 2015 Copenhagen 'Exploring Identities in Dance' proceedings, providing long-term open-access publication of daCi scholarly outputs.
• Taylor & Francis (Dance Education in Practice journal)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerTaylor & Francis published the article 'Connecting Across Countries and Cultures' by daCi members Anna Mansbridge and Carolyn Russell-Smith in Dance Education in Practice, spotlighting a daCi Twinning Project from the Virtual Dancing Into Communities conference.
• University of Cape Town (UCT)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerUCT participated as a partner institution in the daCi twinning project 'Our Earth, Our world, Afrika Speaks' (June 2025), with Associate Professor Lisa Wilson facilitating the project alongside Dr. Alfdaniels Mabingo of Makerere University. Students from UCT travelled to Kampala, Uganda for the second phase.
• Makerere University (Uganda)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMakerere University is the institutional partner for the daCi twinning project 'Our Earth, Our world, Afrika Speaks' (June 2025), co-facilitated by Dr. Alfdaniels Mabingo alongside Lisa Wilson of UCT. The project explored climate change in South Africa and Uganda through music, dance, drama, and poetry.
• Hope College (USA)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHope College's Dance Department (Nicole Flinn-Culver and Ray Tadio) is partnering with the Magsaysay Memorial College and St. Francis Learning Center in the Philippines for the daCi 2026-2027 Twinning Project 'Across the Tides: U.S.A and Philippines Dance Exchange', an intercultural and intergenerational dance exchange for college dance students and Philippine youth, focused on Indigenous Aeta dance traditions.
• Magsaysay Memorial College (Philippines)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMagsaysay Memorial College (represented by Karen Fontillas, Parent Class PTA President and General School Secretary) is a partner in the daCi 2026-2027 Twinning Project 'Across the Tides: U.S.A and Philippines Dance Exchange', connecting U.S. college students with Philippine youth to explore Indigenous Aeta dance traditions.
• Touch Compass Dance Trust (New Zealand)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerTouch Compass Dance Trust (Julie van Renen, Alisha McLennan Marler) is partnering with Splash Flying Dance & Co (Linda Parker-Wendt) for the daCi 2026-2027 Twinning Project 'Matariki / Bintang Kerancong - Ko doe ko au, I be you, You be me', a disability-led, cross-cultural collaboration between New Zealand and Malaysian students with disabilities.
• CQ University (Australia)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCQ University (Dr. Linda Merewyn Lorenza, Senior Lecturer) is partnering with the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Eilidh Slattery) for the daCi 2026-2027 Twinning Project 'Dance Over Cs: creative, cultural, collaborative, community', which empowers primary teachers through an international professional learning community connecting the Mackay region of Central Queensland with Scotland.
• Royal Conservatoire of ScotlandminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Royal Conservatoire of Scotland (Eilidh Slattery, Lecturer and Researcher in Arts Education) is partnering with CQ University Australia for the daCi 2026-2027 Twinning Project 'Dance Over Cs', focused on building cultural exchange between Scottish and Australian primary schools, with First Nations Australian cultural advisors and Scottish traditional dance cultural advisors guiding the work.
• Lebanese American University / Al-Sarab Dance SchoolminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNadra Assaf (Lebanese American University, Al-Sarab Dance School) and Matthew Henley (Teachers College, Columbia University) are partners in the daCi 2026-2027 Outreach Project 'Dancing Across Invisible Borders: Building Inclusive Dance Communities in Lebanon', hosting workshops with dance educators from less visible regions of Lebanon (Bekaa Valley, Akkar, rural villages) including Armenian, Syrian, Palestinian, and Indian communities.
• Teachers College, Columbia UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMatthew Henley of Teachers College, Columbia University is partnering with Nadra Assaf (Lebanese American University) for the daCi 2026-2027 Outreach Project 'Dancing Across Invisible Borders: Building Inclusive Dance Communities in Lebanon'.
• Federation of International Dance Festivals (FIDAF) MalaysiaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAbdul Hamid bin Chan, Deputy Director of the Federation of International Dance Festivals (FIDAF) Malaysia (an organisation headquartered in South Korea), is a project partner alongside Muhammad Fazli Taib bin Saearani (UPSI) for the daCi 2026-2027 Research Project 'Pedagogy of Rasa: Children's Value-Learning Experiences through Court Dance Communities in Malaysia and Indonesia'.
• Royal Academy of Dance (RAD)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerThree daCi colleagues (Norma Sue Fisher-Stitt, Susan Koff, Jeff Meiners) presented at the Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) 'Mapping Dance and Dance Teaching: Past(s), Present and Future(s)' online conference in September 2020, providing daCi visibility within the broader international dance education community.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• Dance/USA: The national service organization for the professional dance field in the United States, serving a broader dance community (companies, presenters, educators) with advocacy, research, and convening. While not child-focused, it is a comparable nonprofit dance membership and advocacy model.
• Royal Academy of Dance (RAD): A large, established international dance education and examination body with which daCi's leaders have presented (RAD online conference 2020). RAD operates a far broader dance education portfolio including certifications, syllabi, and teacher training, but overlaps with daCi on dance education advocacy and the international dance teacher community.
• National Dance Education Organization (NDEO): The leading US-based nonprofit organization for dance education, serving a similar dance-educator and researcher community with conferences, publications, and advocacy. NDEO operates a substantially larger and better-resourced equivalent of daCi's mission in a single (large) market, and represents a comparable organizational model.
• EDN (European Dancehouse Network): A network of European dance houses and presenters advancing contemporary dance development, policy, and education. EDN overlaps with daCi on the European dance policy and education development axis and is a peer in international dance network governance.
• International Theatre Institute (ITI): The world's largest performing arts organization, founded under UNESCO auspices, with centres in 90+ countries and a similar global NGO structure focused on performing arts education and policy. ITI is a peer in the UNESCO-aligned performing arts NGO space and serves an overlapping international arts-education constituency.

Regional players

• Dance Europe Foundation: European-based dance publishing, events, and education organization serving the international dance community with conferences and publications. It is a regional peer in dance-education publishing and event delivery with overlapping European dance educator audiences.
• One Dance UK: The UK-based subject association for dance (formed by merging the Imperial Society of Teachers of Dancing and the National Dance Teachers Association), offering membership, advocacy, and CPD for dance teachers. Comparable organizational model to daCi's national chapters but serving the UK market.

Others

• Consortium of Institutes of Dance (CID) at UNESCO: An advisory body within UNESCO's International Theatre Institute (ITI) focused on dance. CID is an adjacent intergovernmental dance policy forum and a key counterpart for daCi in the UNESCO dance-education policy ecosystem.

Direct peers

• Ausdance (Australian Dance Council): Australia's peak body for dance that hosts daCi conference proceedings (2015 Copenhagen, 2018 Panpapanpalya) and is structurally similar as a membership-based national dance advocacy organization. Ausdance is a direct peer in mission and in publishing/membership operations.
• World Dance Alliance (WDA): Global network of dance practitioners, educators, and researchers that has co-organized two joint world congresses with daCi (2012 Taipei and 2018 Adelaide) and operates in overlapping international dance-education and policy spaces. WDA is the closest direct peer in mission, membership model, and global conference cadence.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/groups/501438606942887
• Instagraminstagram.com/daciconference2024

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles12 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Dance and the Child International