The “Stars of Chechnya” dance group promotes the Chechen culture in Poland and is going to produce their first video recording in June 2012.

The Stars of Chechnya was created in August 2008 as an initiative of the “Lublin Volunteer Center Association” (Stowarzyszenia Centrum Wolontariatu Lublin) with Chechen children. They developed their first show within a project called “Multicultural Lublin” and for four years, the dance group has revealed the magic of the Chechen culture in different Polish cities.

14-year-old Amina and 15-year-old Khazman would like be actors; 12-year-old Madina wants to sing in the future; and 15-year-old Fatima sees herself as a doctor. Each of the fourteen dancers are different, it is exciting to see these different personalities in a unique form during their dances. The girls are open and they talk a lot about their homeland of Chechnya as well as their culture.

At the moment, fourteen joyful and passionate Chechen girls are practicing a new layout under the care of their project coordinators and parents. The Stars of Chechnya is preparing a music video for the song “On the Road” (W drodze). The work has been created under the project “Together – The Volunteer Model for the Integration of Refugees” (Razem – model wolontariatu na rzecz integracji uchodźców). The premiere of the video is planned for June 20, World Refugee Day. Thus, the Chechen girls work hard for their impressive choreography. Despite the lengthy trials, the smiles on the dancers’ faces have never disappeared.

They have finished their training and now are waiting for their costumes for the video. Unfortunately, each outfit comes with at a high price tag. The volunteers do everything possible to obtain funds. According to project coordinator, Magdalene Przytuły, the cost for one dress is roughly 200-300 Polish złoty (50-70 Euro) and hence, the eighteen costumes are very expensive. Nevertheless, the group is always looking for people with good hearts who will help them achieve their dreams, because they really would like to continue dancing and developing their talents.

For anyone who would like to see their dances in person, the next opportunity is coming up very soon; on May 25, they are going to perform in Lublin at the “Notes of Nation” (Nuty Narodu) concert in the Square Lithuanian (Plac Litewski).

*Text was written by Marzena Przeworska for the Polish information service Wiadomości24.pl, translated by Waynakh Online and edited by Michael Capobianco.