Six teams of young people from Kyrgyz orphanages and boarding schools will dance in a flash mob, titled “Gift,” in Bishkek on December 19 to draw attention to the concerns of youth living in residential facilities, and as a means of social expression and development.  The flash mob will take place at the Bishkek Park Trade Center, 148, Kievskaya St., from 13:00 to 14:00.

The 90 young people participating have taken classes for the past two years under the Jasa.kg program, an initiative of the International Youth Foundation (IYF) with funding from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).  The dance component of Jasa.kg is designed to promote self-esteem, personal development, and social skills for youth living in residential facilities.

The teams will perform dances expressing friendship, love, freedom, peace, and joy.  For the finale, the teams will all perform together and hand out balloons containing wishes on slips of paper to the crowd.

“I am happy that young people living in orphanages enjoyed this project,” says Valeria Aslapovskaia, coordinator of the Jasa.kg dance project.  “They gained experience competing, performing on large stages, and interacting with local and international professional dancers.  And now, at the end, they will perform together as one big team — and this again is something new!  I really see how dance has become a bridge to the world for them, broadening their minds and raising their self-esteem.”
  
In 2013-2014, Jasa.kg provided dance training for more than 300 young people from six orphanages in the Kyrgyz Republic.  Well-known dancers from local studios Wake Up, Let’s Dance, and Centrum gave classes two to three times a week, and actors from Theater On also worked with them to develop their talent.

These dance teams previously competed at the Bishkek Atai Omurzakov Youth Center in April 2013. The winning team performed at the international I Am a Dancer Festival in September 2013 in Bishkek.  In June and July 2013, the team visited Poland to participate in the Brave Kids Festival, which was dedicated to cultural exchange among vulnerable youth from different countries.  In May 2014, all the teams participated in the annual Bishkek Battle Skillz Festival for the first time.

Media representatives interested in covering the event or learning more about the program are welcome to attend.  Please contact Ainura Japarova, Communications and Outreach Specialist, at +996 771 406 119 or a.japarova@iyfnet.org for more information.
The Jasa.kg program of the International Youth Foundation catalyzes a generation of young people to actively engage in building a stable, prosperous and democratic Kyrgyzstan through a package of services designed to support young people. The program has three primary objectives: inspiring active citizenship among Kyrgyzstan’s youth, preparing youth for the job market, and creating a culture of positive youth development. For more information, please visit: http://www.facebook.com/jasa.kg

This program is one of many assistance projects supported by the American people through the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).