Blind Ballerinas to dance with artists of the Royal Ballet in Flag Handover Ceremony
Fernanda Bianchini, choreography project pioneer, has four dancers taking part in the Closing Ceremony of the London 2012 Paralympic Games
Four girls were selected to participate in the historic moment (Rio 2016™)
The meeting of the young blind dancers and two Brazilian stars of the Royal Ballet in London promises to be one of the most exciting moments in Sunday’s Paralympic Flag Handover, which itself forms part of the Closing Ceremony of London 2012. The show, green-and-yellow, which lasts eight minutes, symbolizes the beginning of a new cycle, culminating with the Rio 2016 Paralympic Games™.
Four girls from São Paulo based Fernanda Bianchini Association of Ballet for the Blind were selected to participate in the historic moment. They will be representing the first ever group of professional blind ballet dancers in the world. The technique for the visually impaired was developed and patented by the choreographer who gives her name to the project.
"At first, I was teaching a jump, the jump over bucket, one of the first jumps a dancer learns, a simple opening and closing of the legs, and one of the students asked, 'Miss, what is a bucket?'. I realized then that I first need to enter their world so that later, better understanding the limitations and difficulties, I could present my world of classical music," says Fernanda, who has been working voluntarily with dance for people with disabilities for 16 years.
Invited by the producers of the Brazilian section of the Closing Ceremony, the choreographer began rehearsals with Geyza Pereira, Marina Guimaraes, Gisele Dantas and Aldenice Moreira with no further details available about the presentation except that two very special guests have been invited to join: Roberta Marquez, prima ballerina, and Thiago Soares, principal dancer of the Royal Ballet of London, one of the most traditional classical ballet companies in the world.
Rehearsing with international stars thrilled the group, who have been in London for a week practicing more than six hours a day for the big moment. They’ve also made a visit to the Royal Opera House, legendary for lovers of dance.
"It's a wonderful and unforgettable experience for us, an opportunity that I could never imagine. I used to swim and some said that I might one day participate in the Olympics. I never thought I'd be here as an artist. If there are only a few athletes who make it here, there are even fewer artists," said Marina Guimarães, who has been dancing for 15 years. Today, she reconciles rehearsals with her job at the Courts of Justice in São Paulo. Because of complications in the incubator after a premature birth, Marina has never been able to see.
Besides the dancers, the Paralympic Flag Handover to Rio de Janeiro will feature presentations by Herbert Vianna and the Paralamas do Sucesso, Carlinhos Brown and Thalma de Freitas, as well as including participation of great current and former Brazilian Paralympic athletes.
