Deutsche Welle / Culture, The Firebird – the successful story of an original project

The first community dance show in Romania, presented on the National Theatre’s stage as a part of “George Enescu” Festival was a huge success.[…] For minutes, the full National Theatre was cheering loudly the amazing performance of the 100 young people and children who, after only six weeks of intense training, realized a superb and professional dance show […].

The British choreographer, Royston Maldoom, famous for his community dance concept, was surprised with the energy potential he found in the Romanian youth and said, before the premiere at the National Theatre, that this energy will certainly reflect upon the final performance. And he was so right: the young people on the stage completely embraced a tremendous creative energy, an urge to dance and play, that all professional dancers have. The story told through the music of Stravinsky brought tears in the eyes of the numerous audience.

The German choreographer Josef Eder also noticed here something different from other community dance projects: “a great thirst for new, for more experiences”. He found the structure of the group extremely interesting and confessed: “I lay great stress on this diversity, children coming from very different social environments, because that’s how the learning process gets intensified. This diversity is reflected in our joint dance project.”

Not few of the children who participated in The Firebird show live in orphanages or shelters, without being orphans, but abandoned by their own parents. […] For a few moments they saw this dream come true and, without a doubt, the chance of a new beginning in a world that isn’t made only of suffering, painful experiences, lack of love, but a world of acceptance and understanding. The extraordinary performance of the little “artists” is, at the same time, proof that everyone is valuable to society, when given a chance.

Author: Medana Weident