Like headmaster, like school......

Beside the impediments inherent to their personal problems, one of the highest hurdles which youngsters from underprivileged backgrounds or with special needs have to overcome is the lack of acceptance from their peers and society altogether. This is still particularly  true in post communist countries where thousands of children and adults were literally banned from society and clustered in homes far away from towns and cities for several decades.

Acceptance and integration are precisely what Community dance projects such as The Firebird ultimately aim at. Consequently, the participating young "artists" ought to come from different backgrounds and schools.

So, off we went in search of High schools interested in joining the project. Our first experiences soon revealed fundamental differences in the Headmasters´ -or headmistresses´ approach towards new concepts and proposals:

It had seemed to us logical to start by addressing a school where dance is a priority. We were soon given to understand that a project like ours, involving such a variety of backgrounds and such a wide age and talent range did not match the school´s profile, and by the way, seemed doomed to fail for these very reasons.

We then went on to a school where social dance is proscribed but neighbourly love a must. We stressed the contemporary dance character of the project, its altruistic and integrational aspects; yet all our endeavours to persuade the headmaster failed.

In both cases, the headmasters were not broadminded enough to perceive all the positive aspects and long term  effects of such a project for the participants on both sides.

Our next target though, was to surprise us all the more: at Liceul I.L. Caragiale, one of Bucharest´s top schools located in an impressive old building, we were welcomed with open arms by  Gabriela Bancila, its young and dynamic Headmistress who right away offered us a partnership, the school´s gym for rehearsals and its cantine for meals. In return, we offered that a group of pupils take part in the project and  we made two successful presentations of it.

At Princess Margareta School - named after King Mihai´s eldest daughter currently living in Bucharest - we encountered the same enthusiasm for our dance project. Here too, a partnership was soon agreed upon with schoolmistress Daniela Turcsany and a dozen youngsters will join in.

Finally we visited the school Nr 2 for children with hearing impairment. At first sight the involvement of youngsters with such an impairment in a music and dance project might seem somewhat strange, but having still in mind a stunning dance performance in a similar school in Belgrade, I thought we should definitely give some of these youngsters a chance to share this experience with other kids.

Mrs Nedeianu´s implication for her school, the friendly atmosphere of the place and the wholeheartedness of the handicraft teacher made a strong impression on me. The openness and enthusiasm of the kids in the classrooms we visited did the rest. We wish to include eight or ten of them in the Firebird performance.

Life is about seizing chances and opportunities for oneself, or, if you are a school director, it is about spotting these opportunities and giving your kids the chance to grab them and grow through them. We are happy we found some school directors who share our goals.