"Dance for it" story«Dance for it» is a full-length documentary
about the strength of dreaming. We want to tell you the story about six
dancers, who believe that if you live your dreams, you can have the whole
world. Dancing is their passion, their meaning of life, their way, and they
could turn all this into their lifestyle. Very lucky, aren’t they? Every week
they fly to a new country to teach kizomba, semba and kuduro on social dance
festivals, spend there several days of work-shops, dance with every person
during night parties (and there is always a huge line of girls and guys
waiting to dance with them), go back home and as a result
they have nothing left from this week for their own life. they
are changing countries so fast that they don't have time to appreciate it.
They are booked for two years ahead. That means that next several years they are
going to live like this. They feel really blessed to have the opportunity to
live like this – to meet hundreds of awesome people, to be invited to a new
country where they might not even have an opportunity to come by their own, to
perform on respectful scenes, to feel that huge sincere gratitude from people
who take their workshops. Each of them dreams to fill every single day of their
life with dancing, to become better than they were yesterday and to help others
to do the same.
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However, one day these huge dreams happened to
become a serious obstacle for making another huge dream come true. Is it
possible to accept the fact that the job you love the most, makes you refuse of
seeing parents, starting your own family, graduating from the university or
developing your own projects? Do they really have to sacrifice one dream to
another? How to make this choice? You will see a fascinating story about people who are dancing for their
dreams, looking for their way and will find it after all.
About our characters
I met our characters a year ago on a kizomba
Festival in Porto. I have been dancing kizomba
for half a year already and wanted to improve my dancing skills by learning
from the best European instructors. I still remember, how fascinated I
was by inspiration, freedom and inner beauty which were coming out of them
while they were dancing during their performance. I really couldn’t stop
staring at them! I remember how Paulo and Lanna didn’t stop smiling for a
second, sharing joy, energy and pride from sharing their African heritage. Or how Ricardo and Paula, having a very difficult
choreography and playing powerful and severe roles, but still were looking at
each other with love and gratitude for support in such a responsible moment.
I remember how Albir and
Carola hugged each other after they finished their performance – I have
never seen something more warm and touching – like all the love of the world
was in that hug.
These people are made for dancing and they are
giving all of them to it. They have so many stories about pain, happiness,
disappointment and hope – and all this is screaming inside of them, getting out
in form of dance.
A
little bit about Kizomba
Kizomba is a pure love. This is about
having strength to overcome the fear of trusting people. This is about being
brave and open-hearted, because it is not easy to let an absolute stranger
embrace you. This is about giving to your partner all your care and tenderness,
and about being concerned about his feelings more than about your own. It lets man to be man and lets woman
to be a woman.
Why
this project our dream
Anna Vinokur, director: To be honest, when I was leaving for that
Festival in Portugal
a year ago, I was kind of broken and lost. I didn’t know where I should look
for the inspiration which could help me move on. I was watching them dancing
and it became a long-awaited turning point. When I see their sparkling eyes
while dancing, I catch their feeling of freedom and happiness. It makes me a
better person, more kind and caring. It gives me the a belief that there is
nothing I cannot do. I want you to feel the same.
Taras Onoprienko, producer: The story of our characters really touched me, I have been dancing for
18 years and can't visit my family too as often as I want. But no matter what is happening in my life, the dance is always with me!
How much money do we need
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We want to spend together with our characters four-five
months and see together with you important and maybe crucial moments of
their lives. We will make our shootings in Lisbon,
Porto and Madrid.
We want to visit Albir’s family in Panama
and to meet people he loves the most, we want to go to Luanda to meet big families of Paulo and
Lanna and to see rich and beautiful Angolan culture and traditions. We want to
see, how Carola is creating her new life and how Ricardo with Paula are
achieving their ambitious dreams about their “Afrolatin Connection” and
“Muxima” brands. And we are inviting you to join us on our amazing journey. To
make this project happen, from the very beginning till the end, we need 109,000
euros.
Risks and challenges
Anna Vinokur, director: My main challenge is that this is my first
full-length documentary as a director. I graduated from film school in Saint-Petersburg, Russia, my diploma documentary film
had won the nomination for «The best documentary filmmaker» on a student film
festival in Saint-Petersburg. For the last three years I have been working as
television producer. I am absolutely sure that this film will be interesting to
totally different people – even if you learned the word “Kizomba” just five
minutes ago, you will find a kind human story about strong and beautiful people
who are trying to find the best recipe for their life. So basically this is a
film about each of us. So many people already believe in this project and that
is a huge inspiration and motivation for us – we absolutely cannot let you
down.
If you can't donate right now, support us by sharing our page, we will appreciate it!
Thank you!
Hugs, "Dance for it" team.