Ivaldo Bertazzo's Milagrimas is a social, as well as artistic, achievement. The show features 41 dancers who had no exposure to the arts until they were chosen to participate in a program that teaches poor Brazilian teenagers how to dance and how to cope with day-to-day life and it show resumes January 5 in Sao Paulo following a holiday break. Students in the Dance Community Project are provided with health care, transportation and other social services along with classes on movement, rhythm and percussion. On a work by Brazilian poet Alice Ruiz the Milagrimas is based. It is a Portuguese neologism that roughly translates to: Every thousand tears you have a miracle. That mix of suffering and hope forms the heart of the performance, which reflects the emancipation of Africans from slavery in Brazil and their profound influence on the nation's music and culture. Milagrimas will be performed until March 5 at Sesc Pinheiros in Sao Paulo.

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