Ballet is her passion. But in Peru, few can afford dance lessons. Maria del Carmen Silva provides children with free tuition.
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00:00Her passion is ballet.
00:10Living the dream in her homeland, Peru, where most families are poor, is actually unthinkable.
00:17But Mari Carmen makes it possible, with her foundation and her dedication.
00:23The dancers are about to perform at Lima's National Theater.
00:28But at final rehearsals, there's still work to do.
00:49Southeast Lima, and the day is getting off to a slow start.
00:54It's 6 a.m., and Laira Marcas is feeling sluggish.
00:58As she came home late from ballet, Laira worked on her homework until the early hours with
01:03her father.
01:04Her head is often filled with ballet.
01:07Ballet is always on my mind, what will training be like tonight, how will the performance
01:14be, what was the choreography again, that kind of thing.
01:21The shoes, donated, worn out, loved.
01:28I keep them, they're memorabilia of certain performances.
01:36Ballet is rather exotic here.
01:38Laira's parents work long hours, but don't earn much, like most in the barrio.
01:44There's no welfare state to speak of, and criminal gangs have moved into the area.
01:48It's not a safe place, you need to know your way around.
01:55Some people are nice, others aren't, avoid trouble, otherwise bad things could happen.
02:03For Mari Carmen, this theater is a place steeped in history.
02:11Memories of performances staged by the dedicated ballet teacher.
02:17The stage has a kind of magic, when you feel the floor, you fall in love, you're gripped
02:27by a sense of happiness that enchants you.
02:32Making difficult things look easy, that's ballet, and Mari Carmen.
02:37Her life story, a series of challenges.
02:41Her family left Germany before World War II, and had to start from scratch.
02:45A stroke of fate plunged her from prosperity into poverty.
02:53The theater where it all began for the 60-year-old, burned to the ground.
02:58But ballet remained, to give her the strength to cope with the rigors of life.
03:08You can't explode on the stage and say, I can't do this anymore.
03:12You can't.
03:14But what happens here is also so beautiful, so you forget the pain.
03:23Mari Carmen is usually running late.
03:29Her students are waiting.
03:33Laira travels from the rundown east to the smart west of Lima.
03:38She would never have been able to afford ballet lessons if it wasn't for Mari Carmen.
03:42And in any case, no one wanted her.
03:51Essentially she was told she was a Quasimodo.
03:55Because of her back, because of her legs, I can't even tell you.
03:59I said, it's down to you, you'll have to push yourself and then you'll make progress.
04:04And today, Laira is a different person.
04:09It wasn't the plan.
04:10Mari Carmen fell into it somehow.
04:13First, she couldn't turn anyone away, then she didn't want to.
04:17Ballet should be for everyone, as it also gives everyone something, physicality, team
04:22spirit, discipline and passion.
04:26Lucia burns with willpower and a lust for life.
04:30And if her mother Ilda wants one thing, it's for her daughter to be able to experience
04:34everything.
04:35To belong.
04:37And she does.
04:41What do you feel when you're here together?
04:44Joy.
04:48They train every day of the week, and most can't pay.
04:52Without donations, tuition wouldn't be possible.
04:55Only three days until the performance at the National Theatre, with an orchestra.
05:06Drumming up funds and organizing competitions and shows, Mari Carmen has worked tirelessly
05:11for her dancers for 14 years.
05:15I sense I don't have that much time left.
05:18My body is spent.
05:21I won't be able to do as much.
05:23I have to give them all the time I have left, as best I can.
05:30Nicole Chavez is one of her first students.
05:33Her family is extremely poor, and lives up here, in the hills of San Genaro.
05:40After school, after training and to run every errand, she and her sister Kate have to climb
05:45hundreds of steps.
05:54My body's already exhausted.
05:56And then there are all these steps.
05:59But we've been doing it forever, and it's certainly given us strong muscles.
06:09There's rarely any running water here.
06:11Four rooms made of wood, plywood, and corrugated iron for the family of five.
06:17That's all they can afford.
06:19Mother Elcira Ruiz is a seamstress.
06:21Mari Carmen brings her donated clothing, which she sells to neighbors.
06:25But although money is tight, her children have performed in ballet shows in Miami, Barcelona,
06:31Orlando.
06:32It's life-changing.
06:33I've learned not to give up.
06:39If you don't succeed at something, you keep going until it works.
06:52Mari Carmen is on the way to San Genaro.
07:00If the children can't get to her, she takes the ballet lessons to them.
07:07There's no other way.
07:08No one wants to come here.
07:12Every weekend, the children attend classes at a youth center.
07:16Kate and Nicole help with the teaching.
07:23Posture and a firm gaze.
07:25The seeds for the next generation are being sown deliberately here, a place where ballet
07:30is usually a distant dream.
07:34She's always on the go.
07:36Mari Carmen is very nervous.
07:38After all, the performance is in two days' time.
07:44I told the conductor that I'm afraid his expectations of the girls are too high and
07:49that it's not what he wants.
07:53The phone call came from him.
07:54Javier Carbone has Peruvian roots and plays with Frederick Winterson in a chamber orchestra
07:59in faraway Germany, in Mainz.
08:02Their aim is to promote talent.
08:05They also want to perform a top-class concert in Lima and held an audition for it.
08:13It's such a great profession.
08:15There's so much talent.
08:16It would be a shame if they had to give up on their dreams.
08:19I think we can help.
08:26Classical music culture is still cutting its teeth in Peru, says Javier.
08:30Rehearsals take place in what looks like a storeroom.
08:42Javier and Frederick teach music students for a week.
08:52Many of the students juggle the lessons between university lectures and jobs with a two-hour
08:57commute as part of the deal.
09:00Javier made a point of inviting Mari Carmen to devise a ballet accompaniment to the music,
09:04a chance for her dancers to perform on a big stage.
09:09She's working with very, very few resources.
09:12She's not just teaching her students ballet, but also a set of very important values.
09:24It's the day before the big concert at the National Theatre, with 500 guests.
09:30But not all the choreography's on point.
09:34And some of the timings are still off.
09:38Hopefully it all goes well tomorrow and I won't have to go on stage because I'm not
09:41really allowed.
09:42It's making me so nervous.
09:48Laira's on her way home.
09:50She travels between one and two hours every day.
09:55The streets get emptier and emptier, the neighborhood rougher.
10:00As she approaches home, she feels her pulse racing faster.
10:05Today too there are gang members standing on the street corner.
10:08Yes, I'm scared.
10:11You don't know how they're going to look at you, what they'll say to you, how they'll react.
10:16They're not good people.
10:19Unsafe, yes.
10:22But not a reason to give up on their dreams.
10:29And then the big day comes around.
10:36And as the musicians head for the theatre, Nicole, Kate and Laira have something else
10:42to do.
10:44They're selling donated clothing at the weekly market.
10:47Each item sells for about one euro.
10:50The money goes towards travel and performance costs.
10:57At the last minute and right during rush hour, they head for the National Theatre.
11:03It's crucial that we avoid any chaos now.
11:09They made it.
11:10The first glimpse of the magnificent auditorium.
11:17Almost all the shoes have been donated.
11:19If they're still usable, they're painted to ensure they all have the same color.
11:25The guests have arrived, the instruments are tuned, hearts are racing.
11:33And the show begins.
11:43They were given a stage to showcase their talent.
11:46And they do just that.
11:49The opportunity to present themselves.
11:53And they seize it.
12:00They are heard, they are seen.
12:08They may not have material wealth, but they have joy, passion and skill in abundance.
12:15A treasure that they give right back to their guests.