Saturday, January 30

123 kids+670 streamers+8 liters of soda+6 kinds of cookies=Kids Performance at Casa de Cultura

It is actually Sunday night as I write this. The performance with Balsamo was today, but I missed it. The inevitable has occurred—my stomach has rebelled. There is no particular fiendish food that has caused this, merely the culmination of eating dinner at 9, 10, 11 at night, staying up WAY too late, heat, exhaustion. We all thought it would be a good idea if I stayed close to proven facilities, and everyone headed out for the show. I’m really sad I missed it, plus I was supposed to help out Nic, who sprained her ankle the other day and she ended up going to tape anyway. ANYWAY, it is Sunday night on the Malecon, and my friend, that is a loud, busy business. Fascinating, full of moto conchos and music from down the street that is making my ears ring, but fascinating. My friends from childhood may understand when I say that cruising Highland was an insignificant attempt to match what happens on the Malecon. Loud music but great music. The speakers in the back of the truck are actually house speakers, you know what I’m saying?

I’ve just finished watching a segment on The Dance Company of Middlebury and Penny

on Nuestre Gente with Sumariel Vasquez, of course completely in Spanish. Fantastic.

Ramon included the shot in the second night of Improvisation where Liz whacked Christian.

So anyway, here is the story of the kids, otherwise known as one of the best days ever.

We gather around 10:45 to get to the Casa de Cultura in the Parque Central by 11:00

After we climb to the second floor, the Company starts to throw open the windows. I am nervous, but not as bad as the first day with the kids. I’m mostly nervous that either no one will come, or too many. Another friend of Penny’s who runs a Saturday morning arts program for kids is bringing 20 students. So, we should have around 100 kids to organize into a show after 4 hours of working with them. No problemo.

It’s a beautiful building, built by the Agriculture Department of the US Embassy in 1906, according to the plaque. So the windows are actually doors, and the ceiling is at least 20 ft. high. We go over the order of the piece a few times, then get down to the business of building props. I have bought four huge spools of ribbon to make wrist streamers for the kids to use during the dance. Sometimes a colorful prop will get you right in the mood to move, right? We make 100 of them and hope it’s the right number. Then Penny takes over and they block out the KIDZ piece to see how it can be done in the space. Then waiting. Arisleyda arrives at 1:00pm and goes over the order with us, she is our MC.

Waiting, brutal waiting. Just when I am about to give up, Dominican timing kicks in, and I see the first girl arrive on a moto. She doesn’t come in the building though, she waits for more friends in the Park. Suddenly around the corner comes a mini bus crammed with about 50 cheering children. I am ecstatic! Now, quite suddenly 100 children are here and we gotta get them organized. After greetings, that’s exactly what we do. Alex is my interpreter today, so she has the mic. Ok, everyone into groups according to school, so Luperon aqui, y Los Dominguez back here. Then, practice your dances you made, now let’s practice the parade. So 100 kids, with 8 Middlebury students and their homemade streamers paraded to Salsa around the second floor for a few minutes. I could have done that all day, actually. I have to confess, by this time, one of Moreno’s colleagues in the Carnivale school Susi was there with her daughter. And the little one, she loved me. She wrapped herself around my legs when her mom tried to take her away, so I just picked her up and she did it all with me. We ran the whole thing then tried to settle them down into place. Oh! And guess who was there with Los Dominguez? That girl in turquoise! I saw her rehearsing with Cat’s group, and I watched for any signs of disdain for the project. None. She remembered everything and was actually one of the best ones in the group. That meant that no matter what happened for the rest of the afternoon, we were a success. One kid. You can’t change the lives of them all, it’s not possible. But you can change a few, and that’s the goal. I tell them after they rehearse, that I want them to remember something. That dance can be used to tell a story, their story. To tell people who they are and what they want, what is important to them. I just need a few to hear that and believe it, and the Company will have changed the course of someone’s life. Although they wouldn’t believe that.

There are not a lot of parents or outside people present, but even if we just do this for them, it counts. There is soda and cookies for after the performance, so it is their party.

Finally we decide to start. Arisleyda gets up and speaks, then Marisha and Moreno. Then Penny, then my turn. I get to the mic with Arisleyda and I look at all those faces and I know I am going to cry. It’s an honest reaction to how amazed and happy I am to have done this work with them, but kids who have known me for a few hours aren’t going to know that. So I say to Arisleyda “Tell them thank you from my heart.” She looks in my face and says “You can say that.”

“Muchos Gracias—“ Look at Arisleyda.

“Del toro” There’s that knot of tears at the back of my throat.

“Del toro mi Corazon.” I manage to get out. Everyone applauds and one mother nods her head at me. Apparantly I have said the right thing, thank God.

The kids do the piece. It is just wonderful. The transition between getting one school off and one school on is slightly messy, and the spacing is awful because there are so many, but they are great. Everyone knows what to do, everyone is participating. And, the Saturday morning ballerinas who arrived earlier and got some ribbons have learned the dances as well. They finish the parade, me and my little friend giving them the cue to bow. It is a great big messy finish, but that’s ok, that’s just fine, it’s perfect.

There are only a few parents there, which Familia comments on later. He sees the last part of the big dance before they start the KIDZ piece. All of the children are watching, craning their necks, once again rapt. Familia says in order for their to be community the parents need to know what their children are doing in school, so they can be supported at home. I agree, it is important, thinking of my own involvement—or lack thereof—in my kids’ schools.

Then it’s time for snacks so Moreno and I power-pour 100 sodas in a few minutes, lining them up on the balcony railing. Susi gives out the cookies. We finish the last few and everyone is gone. I didn’t get to say bye to the kids or Familia, but that’s ok. Rodrigo is here today, who brought the girls to the show Friday night, to see what the work is all about. We sit down for a few minutes and talk about things he can do with the girls he will be working with this summer at a one month camp. The girls are coming from situations where there were drugs, abuse, worse, so they are very vunerable he says. We talk over some ideas, then promise to exchange more information over email. Suddenly there are hands on my face and it is Angelina, the little speech-maker from Los Dominguez. “Buenos tardes, mi amor y muchos gracias.” She says as she kisses me good-bye. And now the day is completely perfect.