Since 2006 Developing Artists has forged strong links with a number of arts institutions across the archipelago of Cape Verde. Primary among these is the Raiz di Polon (Roots of the Cotton Tree) dance school founded by Mano Preto which trains children and young adults from a wide mix of social and economic backgrounds in the skills and discipline necessary to perform as professional dancers. They work in both traditional and contemporary styles. Meeting five nights a week for three hours each evening dancers from 6 – 40 years old work together as equals producing vibrant and genuinely collaborative work.

As part of its commitment to running social and educational programmes alongside creative projects Developing Artists is attempting to introduce a new initiative whereby dance teachers from the Raiz di Polon school work with young people at residential centres for abused and abandoned children run by The Capeverdean Institute of Children and Adolescents and its director in Mindelo, Jandir Olivera. ICCA was founded in 1982 to provide support and residential care for child victims of abandonment, family breakdown, sexual abuse and drug related problems. This project is facilitated by The Cultural Centre of Mindelo and its director Josina Freitas.

In 2009 as part of Developing Artists Apprenticeships programme Mano Preto and Josina Freitas Fortes took up observerships for a month at Northern Stage Theatre in Vermont, USA.

With a prolific background in choreography, Preto, a co-founder of internationally celebrated dance group Raiz di Polon, enjoyed integrating rehearsal and production techniques from Northern Stage into elements of his own work. "The way that departments are organised to help the director and create the best possible conditions for the actors is so interesting" says Preto.

Fortes, director of the Cultural Center of Mindelo, agreed – "For us it's very important to observe all the different ways to produce professional work. Cape Verde has always been known for its cultural activities, but only now we are starting to create the necessary conditions for reliable professionalism, and this experience at Northern Stage will be incredibly helpful."

In 2010 Giles Ramsay worked on the CulturArte programme sponsored by The Cape Verdean government. The project has brought together some 65 young people aged between 16 and 20 from each of the inhabited islands that make up the archipelago of Cape Verde.

Giles ran the Drama programme and Mano Preto ran the Dance programme. There were also programmes run in Music, Singing and Art. Each group worked separately for the first week and then gradually began to join forces as a unified show began to emerge. Thus the skills of the islands were combined to create a, literally, all singing – all dancing, piece of theatre which was then performed to a massive crowd of people from the island of Fogo.

Developing Artists is also supporting efforts to develop a library on the island of Sao Vicente.

Apprentices Mano Preto and Josina Fortes with Northern Stage's Artistic Director Brooke Ciardelli