Committed to Steps: Ava and Vegetables

At the end of the summer the Committed to Steps  project will once again use dance, movement and music to create unforgettable moments for children undergoing rehabilitation at URI Soča. The Ljubljana Festival has been involved in this project for a number of years alongside Zavarovalnica Sava and URI Soča, while in 2023 we invited the Contemporary Dance Department at the Ljubljana Conservatory of Music and Ballet to join us, with the result that the children without mobility impairments now take part in the project alongside their peers from URI Soča. Over the course of just over a week of workshops, the children will develop their dance skills, build confidence, learn about stage presence, overcome mobility challenges and, above all, enjoy shared moments together.

Once again this year, the dance workshops will be led by the experienced dance teacher and choreographer Jana Kovač Valdés. Her work in the workshops will focus on finding connections between movement and expression and adapting dance techniques to different levels of physical ability. Through her commitment and her sensitivity to the individual needs of each dancer, she will create a safe environment in which the children will discover new ways of moving, develop their creativity and build confidence for the final performance on the main stage of the Križanke Summer Theatre. The project once again confirms that dance knows no limits – only open hearts and the unifying power of movement.