Some good news today!

Some weeks are better than others:
Today, I found two letters and one newspaper article in my letter-box. Enough to cheer me up and remind mer that the community dance concept in Romania HAS to go on whatever happens!

Sibiu´s Mayor, Klaus Johannis, wrote:

"Dear Mrs Gruber,

.....I would like to congratulate you and your entire team for the realization of the Firebird project. This unique enterprise impressed me and showed the Sibiu public what young people can achieve when they are given the chance....."


Also in the mail was a copy of the last edition of the Bucurestiul Cultural supplement with an interview from its Editor, Gabriela Adamesteanu about the project. You can find it (unfortunately for many, in Romanian only) on the net under: http://www.revista22.ro/bucure351tiul-cultural-nr-90-6952.html

the second letter came from the founder and director of Ateliere protejate, Jörg Könöszi, a German citizen who has been active (with his Romanian wife) in helping young people with special needs to step into life. For this purpose, he founded a decade ago workshops where the youngsters learn to make candles. During about two years, in transition between teenage and adult life, they learn everything they need to take on a job and stand on their own feet: punctuality, responsibility, practical skills and social integration.
For more details about his work you may check the following website:http://helpstep.net/
You will find some of the participants of the Firebird smiling at you while working in their friendly atelier.
But ther best thing to do is to take up contact with Helpstep and visit their Christmas Bazar next week. You will be impressed by the quality of their work and the friendly atmosphere of the workshop!

And here is Jörg´s feedback about the project:

"Liebe Monique,

.......Wir aus der Werkstatt, die Eltern und viele die wir gefragt haben, sind sich einer Meinung: Das Projekt "Feuervogel" in Rumänien war das erste erfolgreiche Projekt, das gezeigt hat, wie Integration von Menschen mit Behinderung funktionieren kann!

Auch wenn das Thema Integration nicht an erster Stelle stand, was sicher gut war, hatte es enorme Auswirkungen. Für die Eltern unserer Jugendlichen war es das erste Mal, dass ihre Kinder eine Leistung vollbracht haben, die in der Öffentlichkeit anerkannt wurde. Das gibt gerade auch für die Eltern viel Kraft für die Zukunft.

Ich freue mich, dass der Vater von Alexander und der Vater von Mihaela ein Hilfe waren und gebe den Dank gerne an sie weiter. Wir sehen uns nächste Woche, da wir unseren Weihnachtsmarkt haben.

Ich werde mit den Jugendlichen und Cristina reden und wir werden gerne einen Beitrag für eure Homepage schreiben. Nur kommen wir diese Woche, wegen den Vorbereitungen für den Weihnachtsmarkt nicht dazu. Wir versuchen es dennoch so bald wie möglich zu machen.

Die lieben Grüße an alle gebe ich gerne weiter und auch zurück!"

Jörg

Final report of the project for sponsors, partners and supporters

Quite an extensive report, I know, but just in case some of you are interested in knowing more about the project and its implementation and if not...just skip it!

1. Development of the project

After months of intensive coordination between the project initiator, the local coordinator, the artistic and pedagogic team and local institutions (for complete list see annex 1), the project unfolded successfully in Bucharest on August 3rd and thereafter. For six hours a day and for five weeks,110 young people, between 8 and 22 years of age, rehearsed Stravinsky´s "The Firebird” at the sports hall of I.L. Caragiale National College, which its director had offered as the location for the rehearsals.
The participating young people had been selected from a variety of institutions in Bucharest, Brasov, Sibiu and Ploiesti: They came from children´s homes, placement centres, a school for the hearing impaired, a day care centre for youngsters with special needs, and also from regular high schools such as Liceul Caragiale or Liceul Ghibu in Sibiu. The municipality of Bucharest´s sector 2 provided lodging during the entire project for 30 participants coming from outside Bucharest in its "Neghinita" boarding school for the blind. However, feeding these participants was the responsibility of the organizers. Similarly, it was part of the project logistics to provide transportation for all participants to and from the rehearsals as well as snacks, drinks and a warm meal for all participants during and after the strenuous rehearsals.
On September 5th the youngsters performed the "Firebird" in the grand auditorium of the National Theatre in Bucharest and on Sept. 8th at the Sibiu Casa de Cultura a Sindicatelor in front of 1.000 and 700 spectators respectively.

2. Results of the project

2.1. The intensive rehearsals and the performances gave the participating youngsters a unique chance to explore their creative potential and to discover the value of self-discipline and collective effort. These young people who had no experience of classical music or dance proved able to put on stage a very sophisticated performance of high artistic quality in the country´s most prestigious theatre as a special event in the framework of Romania´s major bi-annual cultural event, the George Enescu Festival.

2.2. The audiences received the performances with standing and long, enthusiastic applause. Ion Caramitru, the National Theatre´s General Director, told the project´s initiator Monique Gruber that he had never seen so many spectators leaving his theatre in tears and in silence after a performance. Conductor Horia Andreescu said he could not believe that the youngsters performing the main roles in the ballet were not professional dancers.

2.3. Romanian and German media reported widely on the "Firebird" project and the two performances:
- news agencies: Agerpres, Mediafax, News In
- newspapers: Adevarul, Cotidianul, Jurnalul National, Romania Libera, Cariere,
Observatorul Cultural, Turnul Sfatului
- radio stations: Romania Actualitati, Romania Cultural, Deutsche Welle,
Deutschlandfunk, SWR
- TV stations: TVR1, TVR2, TVR Cultural, Money Channel
- websites: www.hotnews.ro, http://tanznetz.de, http://www.thechronicle.ro

All media reports and commentaries were most positive and unanimous in commending the project as a successful demonstration of how young people from underprivileged backgrounds can be trained and motivated to achieve an impressive collective performance and to attain a high professional standard (for an overview of media reports see annex 2).

2.4. The initiator and organizers of the "Firebird " project wish it to trigger a broadening interest in Romania for the concept of "community dance" and to encourage Romanian organizations to realize similar follow-on projects. It is hoped that the positive media reaction to the "Firebird" as well as the documentary film which is in preparation will contribute to making Romanian educators and public institutions aware of the value of this concept and motivate them to explore its potential to integrate marginalized young people into society.

3. Sponsors, partners, budget, volunteers

The realisation of the "Firebird" project would not have been possible without the generous support of many sponsors and partners (for a complete list see annex 3).
A number of major firms operating in Romania made significant cash contributions. Individuals equally made donations via the German charitable association "Jungen Rumänen eine Chance!".
In addition to this financial support, which totalled 98.000,- Euro, the project also benefited from significant contributions in kind or services, such as the provision of transport facilities, legal advice, food or catering. While it is difficult to put a price tag on these contributions in kind, their value can be estimated to add up to about an additional 65.000,- euro.
The financial contributions were used to pay the costs (emoluments, travel expenses and lodging) of the artistic and pedagogic team that trained and took care of the youngsters; for the preparation and organization of rehearsals and performances; for food and lodging of the participants, in particular during the trip to Sibiu. A break-down of the major expenditures is attached as annex 4.
Attention was drawn to the names and logos on all written (posters, flyers and programmes, press releases) and electronic PR material made available for journalists and the public. The project website www.pasareadefoc.ro and the initiator´s blog http://www.dance-with-us.blogspot.com - which enjoyed significant numbers of visitors - also listed sponsors and partners prominently.


Sponsors´ and partners´ logos were also displayed visibly on spiders at the venue of the two performances.
During press conferences, interviews and all contacts with the media the project initiator and organizers expressed their appreciation for the support of sponsors and partners. A TV interview broadcast by "Money Channel" on September 11 was used by the initiator to speak at some length about the sponsors´ and partners´ contribution and to express her gratitude for their demonstrating their sense of corporate social responsibility by supporting the project.
A significant number of volunteers - from Germany, Great Britain and Romania - was also involved in making the project a success (their names are listed in annex 1).They ensured a smooth unfolding of the project. In their respective roles and positions, e.g. as sound engineer, educators, costume tailors, organizers of drawing sessions or a percussion workshop, they contributed significantly to the dancers´energy and enthusiasm thanks to their benevolent dedication and commitment.

4. Overall assessment

According to the judgment of all observers the "Firebird" project left a significant impact on the young participants. Some of them expressed how valuable the experience had been for them on the initiator´s blog http://www.dance-with-us.blogspot.com. They acknowledged that taking part in this project was a unique experience in their lives and affected profoundly their self-perception and their attitude towards their peers and fellow human beings.
Dan, Ionel and Monica´s reactions reflect quite well the project´s impact on the young "artists".
Dan, age 22: "I am a youngster from Bucharest, living on the street; participating in this project gives me the feeling that the Firebird´s tale is becoming reality..."
Ionel, age 17: "This project means a lot to me because I do not have anybody; and here I have found a family, brothers and friends. It teaches me how to get prepared for life. I am very proud of what I am doing and happy to have a role. I would appreciate if I could get some support to carry on this project. Many thanks to all those who have put so much effort in this project."
Monica, age 17: „I never thought we could give the best out of us. Dance has taught us what it means to work hard to achieve what we really want. It has changed us a lot, especially our behaviour. We have gained self confidence. By dancing in front of such a large public, we have proved that we are capable, we have achieved that the public be proud of us instead of rejecting us because we are from a children´s home and therefore naughts. We are not any different that anybody else and we too have our qualities. With thanks and respect".
The public witnessed at first hand that youngsters who have grown up at the margins of society have the energy and are indeed capable - if and when duly motivated and trained - of performing a major piece of art at an amazing level of excellence.
Romanian organizations and institutions are now called upon to carry forward the "Firebird"´s message in follow-on projects.

There is hope again for Tedy´s movie...

You may have noticed that posts have been more scarce lately and our "artists" will again accuse me of forgetting them....
As I wrote earlier, I have been quite busy with "post-project" and administrative tasks. But I have to admit that some more reasons, doubts and questions might also be responsible for my silence of the last four weeks: When will Schott finally give us an answer about the author´s rights for the film? Will we be able to gather the necessary funds to pay them? When will the première take place? When and How will the project go on?

And then, yesterday, a sunray blinded me whencatching a glance of the association´s bank account:

Nathan and his form had achieved a small miracle:

Nathan is Klaus´s 8 year old son. After his father had left him and his smaller brother Fabian with their grand parents for two months in the summer when he went to Bucharest to take care of the participants, Nathan decided with his schoolmates and his school in Bubenreuth that the proceeds of the Christmas bazar which they organized last weekend should go to the project, as a contribution to the production of Tedy´s movie.

Nathan´s class (Nathan is the third from left in the front row)

They produced some beautiful handicrafts and Christmas decorations, sold them with cakes and other goodies together with their parents on nicely decorated stands and guess how much they took in?

The fantastic sum of 650 €! AMAZING!Congratulations and thousand thanks to all!
And this came precisely at a moment when we were wondering whether we would be able to carry on the film project.



So, dear participants, don´t tell me again that nobody thinks of you and that we have forgotten you since the end of the project, when a whole school has been thinking of you and working for your project for weeks!

Yesterday also, Julia Diterich, a young Munich pediatrician and one of our most generous sponsors (which doesn´t mean that she is a millionnaire....) transferred her latest savings to the association´s account; for her part, Stefanie Moog (who had also come to Bucharest especially for the performance and was a precious helping hand in the last hours before the performance) announced that she would organize a slide show and lecture on the project in January. And so will Klaus and I.

So, there is hope again and who knows? The may be more miracles before the film is ready.....

10 weeks already since our last performance!

"We", the organizers and volunteers of the Firebird, are regularly in contact with one another and with some of our artists, who occasionally send us a mail to give us the latest news. They seem to keep contact with other participants and are longing to see the "Firebird family" as they call it, again soon. They are looking forward to this opportunity when the premiere of the film takes place.
Unfortunately, we are still waiting for an answer from the Schott Edition, who deals with Srtrawinskij´s rights and is supposed to settle the price of the author´s rights to be paid for using Strawinskij´s music in the film. We presented the project to them six weeks ago but when we called them to inquire they answered us that they are overworked and that it might still last some time before we get an answer.

The future of the project, that is, the spreading of community dance in Romania partly depends on this decision: if the rights are very high, we will have to give up the publishing of the film, which we intended to use as pedagogical material to be shown in schools and institutions as incentive to make further projects in the spirit of the Firebird.
Besides, we count on the proceeds from the film´s sales to organize some workshops aiming at training dance teachers in community dance so that the concept can spread in various regions of Romania. Several institutions and schools have already shown their interest in similar projects.
At present time Tedy has already finished editing the movie about the performance and is working hard editing the "making of". We are all anxious to see the result!

In the meantime, here are a few more comments from our artists:

Ana wrote: "This project has changed my life. I have gained so much self confidence.....I don´t know how to express what I feel in my heart, but I am sure you can imagine....."


Gabi´s words: "It is only the third day, but I have already made many good friends. Sometimes I help them, and sometimes they help me. Dancing is not that difficult, but I am happy because we have a talented team and excellent teachers. Even when we make mistakes they help us to succeed. I am very impatient to get done with the rehearsals and to head for the theatre for the performance"

Gabi Draguti was not even 11 years old when he came to the project.
He is the little guy whom Klaus had already mentionned earlier in the blog, and whose parents had insisted for weeks to have him participate in the project and had asked to put him on the waiting list. When we called them to say that a participant had not shown up, they booked Gaby for a coach headinf for Bucharest at 5 o clock the next morning, without even knowing any of us or who would pick him up at the station after his four hour trip. He arrived at 9.30 a.m. and was brought straight to the gym. Gaby had had ballet for 3 years. He stepped in, four days after the beginning of the training, and adapted instantly, a charming little guy, very talented and friendly.

Unfortunately, 2 weeks later, all of a sudden and with no apparent reason, his parents decided that he was not happy, turned up in Bucharest and took him home, depriving him of a unique experience which he seemed to enjoy thoroughly.....

We experienced the same thing on three occasions during the project. Happy children, but dominant and sceptical parents, afraid that their children mix up with others whom they do not consider as reaching the standards they wish for them.
Their decision, but sad for the kids.........