  This aims to be an overview of what detailed observations of individual stars
in nearby dwarf galaxies may teach us about galaxy evolution. This includes
some early results from the DART (Dwarf Abundances and Radial velocity Team)
Large Programme at ESO. This project has used 2.2m/WFI and VLT/FLAMES to obtain
spectra of large samples of individual stars in nearby dwarf spheroidal
galaxies and determine accurate abundances and kinematics. These results can be
used to trace the formation and evolution of nearby galaxies from the earliest
times to the present.
