First rehearsal day successfully completed!

The last few days were loaded with unexpected and enormous obstacles, which one can hardly imagine and enough already to write a novel, but thanks to the extreme engagement of our team, we are overcoming most of them.

I have always thought that ADAPTABILITY and FLEXIBILITY are the two main qualities parents should provide with:well, I am happy to say that this has just proved to be true. Each and every member of the Firebird organizing team has undoubtedly received these precious qualities from home!

But the members of our team were lucky enough to have parents behind them and caring for them, although even so, it is not given to everybody to have these qualities; but what is much more astonishing and made us most happy on this first day was the adaptability of all our young artists, who for the most part have not had this chance in the first and most important part of their young life:

Imagine over a hundred youngsters between 8 and 31 from all different backgrounds, used to being overflown with music and noise but certainly not to remaining concentrated for more than a few minutes, suddenly being able to "focus" for more than 4 hours in a row with just half an hour of break. This is how it was on this first day thanks to the excellent start given by Josef with the magnificent support of Martha Hincapié, Irina Roncea and Oana Rotariu.


What a pleasure to witness the change on these kids´faces within a few hours. They arrived doubtful and sceptical at 9.30 and left happy and relaxed at 16.30. And that this change after just one single day of rehearsals was not just an impression proved itself after dinner. Suddenly the youngsters from Sibiu and Brasov living in the Neghinita Children´s centre hosting them were ONE single group: the atmosphere became much more relaxed, they did not stick to their friends any more, expressed their impressions at our evening gathering, joked, laughed and......guess what: dancing break!

A day like this is enough to make you feel that two years of work and preparations were worth it; and if you add to it that in the last three days we have been able to trace 5 of my "initial protégés" in the various children´s homes of Bucharest to give them the chance to join the "Firebird", to spend six weeks together with their former "brothers and sisters" and above all their "mother" Mihaela, who volunteered to run the actual home where we are staying thus renouncing to her only month of holiday,
then, what else do you want to be happy?

Monique