Watch: The young ballet dancers reaching for the sky in Peru

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Former professional dancer Maria del Carmen Silva's ballet school is helping young girls leap over their challenges

Transcript

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.

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