By Maria Theoktisto | Enlaces Coordinator
You will recognize Raul because he is loud. He admits that his grandmother put him into Enlaces as an experiment. She didn’t know what else to do; four years ago he was very misbehaved, and she thought dance classes were her last resort to channel all the energy this kid carried around.
Raul is a 13-year-old boy from Barraza, one of the most dangerous neighborhoods in Panama City, and has struggled with being called a “softy” since he was little, because he doesn’t like to fight and because he loves to dance. Hence he compensates his lack of physical aggression (necessary to survive in such environments) with his high tone of voice and by talking unceasingly.
His enthusiasm is contagious. He gets excited about Science, History and even Politics, but despite being interested in anything the world has to offer, in Enlaces he found his true passion and an identity that has allowed him transcend stereotypes and the limits of his own imagination: contemporary dance.
Raul has been in Enlaces since 2012. He was selected to be part of the cast of “Hansel & Gretel” in 2013 and “Romeo & Juliet” in 2015, both productions directed in the National Theatre by the prestigious Spanish choreographer Fernando Hurtado. In 2014, he won Gold Medal in the Solo category in the International Dance Competition Danza Activa 2014, held in Panama City. As part of this award, he was granted an intensive dance scholarship in the Dance Theatre USA 2015 Summer Workshop, which took place in Orlando, Florida this past July. It was the first time Joameth traveled outside the country. As soon as he arrived the organizers noticed his talent and upgraded him from the Junior group to the Advanced group in the workshops. He practiced his English making new friends from different countries and as if it wasn’t enough, he turned 13 during his stay in Florida, so his teachers invited him to Disney’s Magic Kingdom as a birthday present. It almost sounds like a fairy tale. To this day is hard to measure the impact this experience had in his life. How do you measure the gift of culture and art?
Raul's achievements were made public in the media. Several newspapers covered his trip to Florida. Coming back to reality was hard, but something was broken; the idea that dreams is a faraway reality was broken, isolation and the learned hopelessness was broken. His voice has more energy than ever, and although he keeps talking with his mouth, he communicates keeps communicating intensively with his body, proud of his work and effort, focused on his next achievement.
*The names in this report have been changed to respect the privacy of our beneficiaries
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