The Acholi Cultural Dance Association was founded in 1997 in Kitchener, Ontario by a group of South Sudanese Canadian immigrant families. The group strives to keep their cultural traditions alive through dance while teaching their children about the Acholi heritage. The Acholis are part of the Luo group and live mostly in southern Sudan and northern Uganda as well as western Kenya and eastern Congo.

The mostly children’s group has performed at numerous Sudanese community events and churches and were featured at the “Refugee Day” at Kitchener City Hall.

Led by Joseph Oywak, the group uses singers, drummers and musicians with a large dance troupe to perform the Dingi dingi which is an all girls dance said to have originated when the men were away at harvest time. It is a dance with many different steps and sequences and is one of the most popular traditional dances of the Acholis.

Acholi Cultural Dance Association performed at Afrofest in 1999.