Dancing in the dark: Blind ballerinas from Sao Paulo are needing your help to make a movie

Have you ever tried to close your eyes when you're dancing? It's quite exciting for a while, isn't it? But I wonder how you, that is in front of this screen, would feel if could not read this post. I also wonder what would I do, if I could not see and needed hopelessly to find the toilet bowl — generally we men only close our eyes and place our hand on the wall after begin to pee. I'm sure I would be absolutely lost.

Unfortunately, when most of the people 'see' on the street some brave person that can't 'see', don't think that much about the daily life of a blind individual. It's dramatic for us, to think about being in the dark for ever. It would be a huge paradigm break. However, what would you think if I tell you that lots of them dance ballet? Another paradigm break?

There is a ballet school here in São Paulo that teaches blind people to dance. It's amazing to see how they perform. The project was started 16 years ago by the ballet teacher Fernanda Bianchini and some of the dancers still practicing until now, such as Geysa that lost her sight when she was 10 years old. Nowadays they are preparing themselves to perform at the classic Municipal Theatre of São Paulo. Last year, they performed at the 2012 Paralympics closing ceremony in London. Click on this link to view the video made by BBC and find out how strong is the feeling.

Film project
The film director Alexandre Peralta, which is a Brazilian studying in USA, has been following the ballet school on the last few years and is willing to produce a documentary film about the people related to the school. The film entitled "Looking at the Stars" wants to show how the school is important on their lives. According to him, "this movie is about their passion for doing something that seemed unreachable for them".

Currently he and his team are trying to raise money to make it possible via the Kickstarter website. The project needs US$ 16,000 to be produced and it will be available for donation till February 5th. They want to shoot in the Summer of 2013 and need money for the trip, to host and pay the crew (5 people) and afford the expenses, that includes rentals, equipment, locations and everything else. 

It is extremely exciting to find that we are able to do seemingly impossible things when sometimes what we want is just to feel alive. Insidesaopaulo deeply supports this project! Do the same and help this group to make their dream come true. Donate. They need $16,000 by Feb 5th!

Where you can find them
Where: Avenida Domingos de Moraes, 1765 - Vila Mariana
When: It will be possible to pledge till Feb 5th.
How much should I donate?: It's up to you, but find out more on this website
Phone: +55 (11) 5084-8542
Website: www.ciafernandabianchini.org.br/
Email: ciaballetdecegos@gmail.com