Zakiya Harris worked with The Gloria Eve Performing Arts Foundation to develop a certificate program in West African dance and music. The cohort group was able to study from master West African dancers and musicians in traditional drum and dance. This certification ensures that the arts organization can have a baseline in measuring the artists or teachers’ knowledge in this style, as there is currently no way to measure the ability to teach traditional styles of West African dance. This collaboration helped to create a much needed level of credibility for artists of this tradition in Long Island, while also allowing for continued education.

The mission of The Gloria Eve Performing Arts Foundation is to promote the performing arts by providing families of the Nassau community with access to the arts by way of scholarships, arts-in-education, and community programs. Their vision is to develop a performing arts center in the Village of Hempstead where resident companies can contribute to a seasonal calendar in the areas of dance, music, theater, and fine art.