About Us

WE CAN DANCE is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization established in 2022.  It was founded by Dr. Samuel Vezenegho (Samy Vez) after he lost his sight in 2018, and learned first-hand along with the testimonies of others, about the daily challenges that many blind and visually impaired (BVI) people face. These include social isolation, anxiety, depression, low self-esteem, low self-confidence, lack of physical activity and high unemployment rate.  

Six months after going blind Samy returned to his active social dance lifestyle and realized how dance was helping him overcoming many of the challenges that most BVI individuals face. In 2019, during his residency at CRISCO Rehabilitation Center for the Blind, Austin TX, Samy started teaching his peers to dance Kizomba and taking them out to community dance socials.  Based on his personal experience and positive feedback from BVI peers who took his classes, he quickly realized that dance was a great tool to help the community to overcome challenges.  Samy continued to teach and spread the love of dance to the BVI community, including workshops at the 2019 State Conference for the National Federation for the Blind and at Austin’s White Cane Day, which eventually led Samuel to create WE CAN DANCE in 2022. 

WE CAN DANCE is national organization that currently serves the residents of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex in Texas and metro Atlanta, Georgia using dance as a vehicle to enhance the wellbeing of BVI communities.  Our goal is to have a Chapter in every major city in the US that is predominately lead and staffed by BVI individuals in those communities

Our Mission...

WE CAN DANCE’s mission is to enhance the wellbeing of blind and visually impaired individuals through accessible dance education, social connections, and economic empowerment

Our Vision...

A world where dance unlocks equity, inclusion, and opportunity for the blind and visually impaired

Our Core Values...

Diversity, Inclusion, Respect, Empathy, Care, and Trust 

Accessible Dance Education

Blind and visually impaired individuals often encounter barriers in traditional dance education, which depends heavily on visual cues. 

We can dance offers inclusive partner dance classes, a Dance Buddy program, as well as future instructor training on accessible dance technique.  When made accessible through non-visual teaching methods, blind, visually impaired and sighted individuals will all fully enjoy its benefits—enhancing spatial and body awareness, creativity, confidence, social connections, physical and mental health, and overall well-being.

Social Connections

Many blind and visually impaired individuals experience social isolation and depression due to lack of accessible group activities and inclusive community spaces. 

We can dance offers inclusive dance events which bridge communities, widen social circles, provide shared experiences and healthy physical touch that foster meaningful human connections, combating loneliness and building lasting relationships.

Economic Opportunity

Historically, employment rates for people who are blind or visually impaired have been significantly lower than those for individuals without disabilities, and in fact they face some of the lowest rates among all disability groups. 

We Can Dance seeks to address these disparities through a multifaceted approach.  Through participation in our dance programs students will not only learn skills that can open doors to career pathways in dance, but students will also develop transferable skills such as leadership, communication, creativity, and discipline.  We will prioritize training and hiring BVI individuals to help run all aspects of our business and eventually creating a tailored ‘dancepreneurship’ program to groom future entrepreneurs.  

Follow WE CAN DANCE on... facebook.com/wecandanceblind , facebook.com/wecandanceatlanta, facebook.com/wecandancedallas, Instagram: @wecandanceblind; or sign up for our mailing list to get notified of upcoming events.