My name is Frank Mugisha, and I am a Rwandan-Ugandan dance artist working in East Africa and the rest of the world. I have trained in contemporary dance, break dance and African traditional dances, which I fuse to create a unique artistic identity. My journey with movement and embodiment started about 10 years ago as a student with Inmovement Art for Social Change  and Break Dance Project Uganda , and it continues to evolve through various institutions and dance companies. Throughout the years, I’ve fallen in love with the practice of learning, teaching, performing dance and simply being in my body and guiding others back home to their bodies. 



I am very excited to announce that I was accepted to the prestigious l’Ecole des Sables in Senegal to study the Acogny Technique and how to teach it. For years now I have followed the work of its founder, Mama Germaine Acogny, and I’m in such awe of her brilliance and wisdom as a contemporary African dance icon. It’d be such a privilege taking this course and I believe it will enrich my practice as a dancer, choreographer and most importantly as a teacher. However, I need your help to fundraise for program costs and fees.

I need $5,000 to cover tuition, plane tickets to Senegal, visa fees, insurance, COVID testing, and living expenses for 3 months. I will be starting my program on January 3, 2021 so I need to raise all funds by December 31, 2020. I also need to buy my plane tickets within the next month or sooner, before it gets too expensive to buy. 

This is why I ask for the care of my loved ones and friends around the globe right now. I am a working artist in dance education who does not make much money or come from wealth. I have been working even less during the COVID-19 pandemic and I cannot cover these fees alone with my reduced income. I have worked for and within many communities from the start of my career, and now I turn to those same communities for support as I take the next step to grow in my craft. I cannot do this without you: the people who guide and hold me as a young artist, the people who I do this work for. 

(Video: A collaboration I did with director Demtry Vasilev at the Cosmos restaurant in Sofia, Bulgaria.)

Any amount you can give to this fundraiser will help, as well as sharing this campaign amongst your networks. If you can’t donate over GoFundMe, you can also send donations via: [email redacted]


Thanks for reading,

Frank Mugisha

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More about Frank Mugisha  & l’Ecole des Sables:

Over the years, I’ve worked with numerous teachers and choreographers from all over the world in multiple countries, who have introduced me to a wide range of movement vocabulary. I have worked or performed at Soul-Xpressions in Uganda, Open Space Foundation in Bulgaria, Muda Africa in Tanzania, Golden Bridge in Colorado as well as at Commonweal: Power of Hope Camp in California. As I grow into this art form, I continuously realize that the body is ground for all expression and that our bodies are our first and last homes before anything else. I realize that it is very vital to cultivate a healthy, balanced and loving relationship with our bodies. I believe that when we are in our bodies, we are empowered to take a stance against injustice without losing our balance. My definition of Black Excellence is when we have the tools we need to regulate our bodies and emotions, it makes us way stronger and our experience of life is richer. 

As a young man born and raised on the continent of Africa, I continuously seek to explore the ancient holistic ways of our people and try to embrace that to keep our culture and stories alive. In 2017, I got a unique opportunity to work with the Rwandan choreographer, Wesley Ruzibiza on the East African Bolero Dance project which explored a lot of Acogny technique movement and philosophy, and I am very much interested in developing my knowledge of it. It is my belief that the Acogny technique preserves a lot of our cultural memories within it and is specifically designed for our bodies and our pride as Africans. In the Acogny technique, I see the importance of having knowledge and understanding of our somatic experience as Africans living on this continent, but also as humans in general inhabiting these bodies. And as is the “Ubuntu” philosophy, my enrichment is the enrichment of all communities in which I show up and operate in. I believe with the Acogny technique in my toolbox, my communities will largely benefit from the wisdom that is coded within it. 


You can support and follow my work at

IG: @mugisha_frank_ 

FB: Mugisha Frank 

E: [email redacted]


Video: My solo dance performance titled "ROYALTY."

Video: A collaboration I did with my friend, Hamza Pirimo, which is titled, "Baba says cool for thought."