We were lucky to catch up with Rama M’bodj recently and have shared our conversation below.

Rama, appreciate you joining us today. What’s been the most meaningful project you’ve worked on?

One of the most meaningful projects I’ve been part of is Mov4Purpos, a movement that was born from both my personal journey and a deep desire to create impact through art.

Even before creating Mov4Purpos, I had already been part of initiatives where we used dance to give back through fundraising workshops. I always felt deeply connected to that intention, but at the time, I was still discovering myself as an artist and didn’t fully understand where I wanted to go with it.

Everything shifted during COVID.

At a time when everything felt uncertain, I organized my first online dance workshop on my own, and i decided to donate all the proceeds to Panzi Hospital in Congo, supporting women who had experienced violence. That moment hit differently.

For the first time, I truly experienced the impact I could have, even from a distance. It made me realize that dance could not only express who I am, but also support others and heal something within me at the same time.

From there, things evolved naturally. I organized more workshops with my friend Ornella, supporting different causes, from displaced youth in Cameroon to women’s organizations in Senegal like Maison Rose. I remember being on the ground in Senegal, meeting the women and children we were supporting, seeing their smiles made everything real. That’s when I knew this was something I wanted to dedicate my life to: giving back to the source, through art.

But the journey wasn’t linear. I went through a period of pause, burnout, and deep questioning. I had to step back, let go of certain environments, and rebuild myself. That phase was difficult, but necessary, it allowed me to realign with who I truly am and what I’m meant to create.

Everything shifted again when I traveled to Angola on february 2025. That experience reconnected me to my purpose in a way I can’t fully explain, through the people, the culture, the energy. It gave me clarity, faith, and a stronger vision: to build bridges between Africa and the diaspora, and to create spaces where art can heal, empower, and connect.

Mov4Purpos today is not just a project, it’s a living movement and a non-profit organization co-founded with my partners Ornella Nepetsoun and Ylena Edouard.

Through initiatives like Ladies4Purpos, Dance4Purpos, and Travel4Purpos, we create spaces for women, artists, and communities to reconnect with themselves, their identity, and their power.

For me, meaningful work is not about scale or recognition. It’s about intention. It’s about using what you have to spread love and support others, even in small ways.

And Mov4Purpos is exactly that, a space where art becomes a tool for healing, connection, and transformation.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

My name is Rama M’Bodj. I’m a dancer, choreographer, and artistic director based in Montreal.

I grew up in Africa — my father is Senegalese and my mother is Indian — and I lived in Senegal, Ivory Coast, and Tunisia before moving to Canada at 18. My family still lives in Senegal, and I go back often, which deeply shapes my connection to African culture and identity.

I started dancing at 14, first exploring modern jazz and hip-hop, before diving deeper into Dancehall and African street dances like Kuduro and Afrohouse from Angola. These two worlds are a big part of my identity, Dancehall allows me to express emotion, storytelling, and vulnerability, while Afro styles bring out power, confidence, and grounding.

Over the years, I’ve performed, taught, and created in different spaces, and had the opportunity to perform as an opening act for artists such as Burna Boy, Wizkid, Dadju, Tayc, and Rema.

Today, my work exists at the intersection of art, culture, and impact.

I offer dance classes, workshops, choreography, artistic direction, and creative event production. Beyond the technical aspect, I create experiences, spaces where people can connect, express themselves, and feel something real.

I am also the co-founder of Mov4Purpos, a community-driven movement that uses art as a tool for healing, empowerment, and social impact.

Our work is structured around three main pillars:

Dance4Purpos combines dance and impact through workshops and fundraising initiatives. Through these, we’ve supported women’s organizations, contributed to dance communities in Senegal and Angola, and supported artistic spaces such as a creative library in Cameroon. Each event is designed to create both connection and tangible impact.

Travel4Purpos focuses on reconnecting the diaspora to Africa through cultural and artistic experiences. We organize immersive trips where artists can learn from local communities, experience the culture at the source, and build meaningful, human connections beyond tourism.

Ladies4Purpos is at the heart of our mission. It focuses on creating safe spaces for women through movement, conversation, and shared experiences. These spaces allow women to reconnect with themselves, rebuild confidence, and heal.

As women ourselves, we’ve gone through experiences that required us to unlearn, rebuild, and reconnect with who we are. Growing up in environments where societal structures can sometimes limit women’s voices and opportunities, I’ve seen how essential it is to create spaces where women feel safe, supported, and seen.

Dance has been a powerful part of my own healing journey. It allowed me to express what I couldn’t put into words, reconnect with myself, and rebuild my confidence. Through Mov4Purpos, we aim to offer that same space to other women, especially those who may feel isolated, unsupported, or disconnected from themselves.

One of our long-term visions is to create physical centers for women in Africa where art, especially dance, becomes a tool for transformation. Spaces where women can express themselves freely, rediscover their identity, and step back into their power.

Everything I create today is aligned with that intention, using art not just to perform, but to connect, uplift, and create meaningful impact.

What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?

One of the biggest lessons I had to unlearn was the idea that I had to fit into a box.

Growing up between cultures (being Senegalese and Indian, raised in Africa and later living in Canada) I always struggled with identity and belonging. I never fully felt like I belonged in one place or another.
That same struggle showed up in my dance journey.

I trained in both Dancehall and Afro styles, and at some point, I faced criticism, and over time, I started feeling the pressure to choose one identity over the other. I was told, directly or indirectly, that I needed to define myself clearly and stay “pure” in one style to be taken seriously.

So I tried. I went back and forth, searching for where I fit. But every time I forced myself into one box, I felt disconnected from who I really was.

Eventually, I realized that this need to choose was limiting me. I had to unlearn that belief.
I had to accept that I’m allowed to be both and more, as long as I continue to train, respect, and honor each culture, which has always been essential to me. My identity isn’t something that needs to fit into a single category.

Today, I embrace all parts of my artistry. Dancehall allows me to express emotion, storytelling, and vulnerability, while Afro connects me to power, grounding, and my roots.

Mov4Purpos is actually a reflection of that journey, it’s a space where all parts of me can exist freely.

Unlearning that limitation allowed me to reconnect with myself, trust my voice, and create from a place that feels true, aligned, and limitless.

How about pivoting – can you share the story of a time you’ve had to pivot?

One of the biggest turning points in my journey came from a moment of loss and redirection.
I had built a project with someone I was in a relationship with at the time. I invested deeply into this project, my time, energy, creativity, and finances. It became a big part of my identity as a dancer and creator.

But everything shifted when the relationship ended.

Not only did I go through a difficult personal separation, but I also had to face a business separation. We tried to find a way to continue working together, but it wasn’t sustainable. In the end, I had to walk away from everything I had built. I lost the project, the structure, and everything I had invested.
That moment broke me. At the same time, my faith became an anchor for me. It helped me see this loss not just as an ending, but as a redirection. I started to trust that everything was happening for a reason, even if I didn’t fully understand it yet.

Around that same time, I had just come back from a trip to Angola, which had already shifted something deeply within me. Then, within the span of about a month, around March 2025, everything collapsed, and everything realigned at the same time.

I found myself questioning everything. I didn’t know what my next move was supposed to be.
I remember lying in my room, searching for answers, praying, asking myself what I should do next. And when I opened my eyes, I saw something that had been there all along, a vision board on my wall with the words “Mov4Purpos.”
A project I had started before and put aside. that moment, it felt like the answer had been right in front of me the whole time.

I reached out to my now business partners, Ylena and Ornella, and told them I wanted to rebuild it, seriously and intentionally, even if it felt risky and uncertain.
They told me something that stayed with me: people don’t follow a name or a brand, they follow energy, intention, and authenticity. They reminded me that I’ve always had the ability to bring people together, to create spaces where people feel connected, no matter the platform. That gave me the confidence to start again.

Within a very short time, we shifted everything. We restructured Mov4Purpos, clarified the vision, and launched new initiatives, starting with our first Dance4Purpos project: Spring4Purpos. The response was powerful. It confirmed that we were building something real.

Eventually, we officially registered Mov4Purpos as a non-profit organization.
Looking back, losing everything I thought I wanted was actually the best thing that could have happened to me. It forced me to realign, reconnect with who I am, and build something that truly reflects my purpose.

I strongly believe that what feels like an ending is often a redirection toward something much bigger and that a loss can be exactly what allows you to become who you were meant to be.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @rama_mbodj @mov4purpos
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rama-mbodj?utm_source=share_via&utm_content=profile&utm_medium=member_ios
• Other: https://linktr.ee/mov4purpos?utm_source=linktree_profile_share&ltsid=cc88d304-e696-4700-b98a-2eed9c98dc03