Dans, Grozny Dans

A traditional youth Chechen dance group dances to blur and forget the fear and the tragedy of a whole country at war. The film-maker follows the children as they prepare for and embark on a successful European tour, but he comes back to Chechnya again and again. In Grozny, where the sky is black for the bombings and the mines shatter the streets, frightening innocent people. Dancing is more than a mere wish, in fact it becomes a need for these young dancers, for they use the art as a form of survival. Thanks to their outstanding trainer and mentor, Ramzan Akhmadov, these young people discover confidence and dignity through dance, travelling all over Europe; "here's heaven", as one of them cries out, during a performance at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and at the Royal Opera House in London. In the end, the children come back home to their surviving parents: there is no chance for a normal and quiet life, everybody must carry the heavy burden of a tragic destiny.