Nicaraguan dance troupe sharing Latino heritage with performance at College

GREENVILLE, Pa.-- Thiel College, a leading liberal arts college in northwest Pennsylvania, is hosting a performance of the seven-member Nicaraguan dance troupe “The Daughters of Corn,” in Thiel College’s Lutheran Heritage Room at 1 p.m. Sunday, Sept. 17.

The performance is free and open to the public and includes cultural dances performed in ornate dresses and costumes. The 14 dance routines and seven songs will showcase indigenous culture, language and customs of Nicaragua.

“The Daughters of Corn Nicaragua Dance Troupe” is sponsored by Compas de Nicaragua (Friends of Nicaragua), a non-profit organization that formed in 1992. Its mission is to promote cultural exchange and improve lives through service trips and sustainable community development.

This is the sixth tour that brings the Nicaraguans to the U.S. to perform cultural dancing, share culture and promote the work of Compas. It is the group’s second trip to Thiel College. Associate Dean of the Core Curriculum and Professor of History David Buck, Ph.D., arranged The Daughters of Corn tour stop at Thiel and has also taken Thiel student groups to Nicaragua for service projects.

“The performance alone is important because of the beauty of their dancing, but add to that the story of their work as a way to improve the lives of families and their community and this becomes so much more,” Buck said. “This performance gives us a chance to catch a glimpse of their heritage and by sharing the experience with us, we all take on a role in keeping their folklore and culture alive.”

Compas supports “Women in Action,” a group of 40 women who live and organize health and education projects in the poorest settlement of La Primavera (springtime): a poor, urban neighborhood of Managua, Nicaragua. Compas also supports sustainable living projects through a farmer’s coop in the rural town of La Paz. Since 1992, Compas has also organized over 100 service learning trips to Nicaragua.

Related Links

• Con Spirito Chamber Music Concert Series
• Compas de Nicaragua
• Daughters of Corn

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