Utre za Vseki is a Bulgarian organization dedicated to research into breast cancer and, more importantly, providing breast cancer survivors medical care during their recovery. This video is a song recorded by various Bulgarian entertainers in support of the cause:
Utre’s current campaign is aimed at raising funds for an Ayurveda center for cancer survivors. Avon, and other corporate donors, have contributed large sums to the project, but it’s still underfunded. To make up the difference, there have been a number of PSAs airing on Bulgarian TV, encouraging private citizens to contribute. This video is the main one:
This evening, I attended a production at the cultural palace in Sofia, the proceeds of which will go to support the rehab center. I’m not sure who the dancers were – though I think many were part of the Bulgarian Olympic rhythmic gymnastics team – but I know that the show was choreographed by Neshka Robeva.
The show was amazing. It started with an old woman who lies down by a stream and dreams about the history of her people. From there, the motions cascade through Bulgarian history: young women washing clothes by the Danube, Spartacus’s rebellion against Rome and the subsequent crucifixion of the rebels, an incredible sequence with ‘crows’ foreshadowing war with Byzantium, a recounting of the fall of Tsar Samuil, and an homage to those who suffered for 500 years under the yoke of Turkish rule.
I only wish I could get my hands on the soundtrack. Stunning.