Former professional dancer Maria del Carmen Silva's ballet school is helping young girls leap over their challenges
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00:00The ballet is something very important to me because it's what I do every day.
00:08It's something I enjoy and I feel like I would never get tired of it.
00:12It's something that opens up many opportunities in our lives.
00:16When I dance, I feel free and I forget all the problems I have.
00:22When I dance, I feel happy.
00:27I feel an energy, an electricity in my body that makes me very energetic, very happy.
00:36When I dance, I always try to look good.
00:40Not only do I focus on doing it well, but the people who see it enjoy it and feel that I do it well.
00:48Ballet is so gratifying, so beautiful for me to be able to do things that I do,
00:54to move forward as a person and to always carry ballet with me.
01:11In my ballet classes, I have children who come from vulnerable areas.
01:17Maybe they don't have the perfect physique.
01:20They come with a lot of emotional problems, a lot of different forms.
01:25And in their ballet class, they find a space to heal those wounds,
01:30to improve their self-esteem, to love themselves
01:35and to be able to face problems with a better face, a better vision.
01:40Today, girls come from different places.
01:43We call them human settlements.
01:46Very poor places where sometimes there is no water.
01:50The situation is a bit complicated, so it is very difficult for them to move forward.
02:00In my group, I imagine that many girls have problems at school, at home,
02:06maybe with their classmates, with homework.
02:09Each one has their own problems, but when we dance,
02:13I imagine that, just like me, they feel free.
02:20The classes are very strong because of the type of exercises there are, the type of steps.
02:27There are times when we have to do it fast.
02:31In addition to doing the feet fast, we also have to move the arms fast.
02:37Sometimes there are slow exercises, but slow exercises are also difficult
02:42because you have to do them correctly.
02:46In the classes with Miss Maricarmen, we all treat each other very well.
02:49We are all friends, we all get along well.
02:53There has never been any issue of discrimination.
02:55They are all very well received, welcoming and warm.
02:59In my classes, they don't pay anything.
03:01The girls who come here, who come to the vulnerable areas, don't pay anything.
03:05This is free.
03:07Those who can pay, pay, because this money helps the other girls who can't pay
03:14to be able to go to contests too, to be able to buy the shoes they don't have,
03:19or buy the t-shirts they need.
03:22In other words, it is helping each other.
03:29We have won many prizes in the different contests.
03:33We have been able to travel to meet other countries,
03:37which would be almost impossible for her.
03:51Most of my girls can't afford a ticket.
03:55Most of my girls can't afford a ticket to a contest or a trip, it's impossible.
04:03So we have found in recycling and the sale of used clothes
04:08a way to be able to pay these rights to contests.
04:14It's all a team effort.
04:17And we all have to make an effort to be able to travel and reach our dreams.
04:28Ballet has made me get to know new places, new areas,
04:32and also to have higher expectations.
04:36It gives me satisfaction to know that I can do something.
04:42I feel comfortable dancing.
04:44It's something that I love, that I like, and that I want to do for the rest of my life.
04:55Dami is unique, really.
04:58She has supported us a lot since we started ballet.
05:04For all of us, she is our second mother.
05:07I have a lot of love for ballet, for everything it has done for me,
05:11for all the opportunities it gives me,
05:13for the simple fact of giving me classes for free.
05:17It's something that I really value a lot.
05:22Apart from teaching ballet classes and getting ahead,
05:26and doing good choreographies at a good level,
05:29I think I have become like that friend.
05:33This has helped them realize that they are valuable,
05:37worthy, brave, and that they are capable of doing what they want.