d4l russia newsletter_english variant July - September 2009

1. Newsletter, July-September
In early 2009, the dance4life International Foun-
dation has decided to radically transform the logo of
dance4life Project:
the project. The updated shape of the “4” and the
new colors make it more functional and universal.
with renewed vigor and
a new form
a sheet of paper in the form of a comics speech bub-
ble shaped like the renewed “4”.
The new dance4life brand was developed by De-
sign Bridge Company, which is known worldwide - it
was due to the company that such global brands as
Lipton, Nescafe, UEFA Champions League and KFC,
started life anew. Now it is our turn to be updated.
All new features of the brand were tested by the
dance4life Russia team in the first stage of the re-
branding, which took place at the meeting of the
FOCUS-MEDIA Board of Trustees. Specially for this
memorable event we ordered a five-kilogram cake
in the form of renewed “4”, with mascarpone inside
and marzipan icing outside, which did not leave
anybody indifferent. The participants were asked
to spray the new brand on T-shirts using graffiti cans
and specially made stencils. One of the trustees of
“Within the framework of our activities we travel
the project - Katherine von Gechmen-Waldeck - with
around the world. This helps us to see the opportu-
pleasure painted a T-shirt for Alexei Vorobyov, her
nities and challenges faced by many nations. HIV is
protégé and dance4life Ambassador. Also, everybody
still a major threat to young people throughout the
could write his/her comments on the new brand on
world. We are proud that we can help delivering the
dance4life message in the best possible way by our
ability to create a brand» - said Frank Nas, Design
Bridge Managing Director.

2. Scaling thinking,
total winning
In July 2009, the “FOCUS-MEDIA”
Foundation was invited to speak at
the “SELIGER 2009” All-Russia Youth
Forum, organized by the Federal
Youth Agency, as an expert organi-
zation to support youth initiatives and
implement special programs on health
within the “Technology of Good” ses-
sion. The dance4life team, together with
experts from Vologda, Gatchina and Mi-
churinsk, organized the “Life Skills” train-
ing course and non-professional dancers
competition, which was attended by the
young people from at least ten regions of
Russia. The contest was an incitement to the partici- dance4life style which were awarded to the Forum
pants to organize festivals in their own cities and to newly wedded couples on the SELIGER stage.
unite creative groups with local NGOs. A number of
“Info-booth” actions, a quiz with prizes awarded and The main outcome of the event was: the new re-
evening master-classes in body percussion gions were interested in the project; the huge number
- all these activities have of participants were provided with information on HIV
caused a great response and STIs prevention. More than 8 thousand people
and lots of positive emo- learned about dance4life and more than 500 par-
tions in the audience. ticipated in the “Life Skills” lessons. In addition, the
project was joined by young people representing
Together with the many art trends, who actively helped us during ac-
SO2DA group, the project tions, flash mobs, and, in general, realized their crea-
team produced twen- tive ideas in the dance4life project.
ty design T-shirts in the

3. DJ FEEl released a video on MTV
As part of the dance4life Ambassador’s mission,
DJ FEEL first recorded the Russia’s dance4life move-
ment hymn - dance4life Russia. The Anthem. - to-
gether with Vladimir Pozner. Then he shot a relevant
video. The video was included in his album “The Con-
cert”. The well-known St. Petersburg music clip-maker
Serge Grekov was director of the clip. The scenery
was represented by the St. Petersburg streets, and
the actors were dancers of different genres, as well
as passers-by, pretty girls of the city and the DJ’s dog
- Fleura. The shooting props included three kilograms
of ice cream and four liters of milk. The plot is simple:
the central figures of the clip - DJ FEEL himself and
Vladimir Pozner – are walking around the city and
enjoy the views: dance competitions, urban-dance,
dancing children ...
Doutzen Kroes, Will.i.am,
Pavel Datsyuk.
What unites them?
damali, Tanzania, where
she contacted HIV-posi-
tive folks, who revealed
their status and now, to-
gether with their peers,
conduct lessons on pre-
Not so long ago, in this March, the well-known su- venting HIV.
permodel Doutzen Kroes (the Netherlands) joined the
dance4life project. First, Doutzen learned information Less than six months
about the project, contacted the existing dance4life later, one more show
ambassadors, met with the international team, but business star - Will.
only after her visit to Moscow she took a final decision i.am - and the Black
to support the project. After Doutzen had met with Eyed Peas group
Russia’s team and studied the national freestyle, she demonstrated their support for dance4life at the
was inspired to make her next visit to the village Ki- world opening of the 10th Sensation Festival in Am-
sterdam, presenting an unscheduled show together
with Fedde le Grand, dance4life Ambassador.
As to the Russian Ambassadors, Pavel Datsyuk,
the legendary hockey player has given his prior con-
sent to participate in the project. Pavel, who is Red
Wings’ player (Canada), came to Moscow to discuss
a preliminary plan of cooperation. The FOCUS-MEDIA
Foundation is going to ask the Dance4life Interna-
tional Foundation about including Pavel in the ranks
of the International dance4life Ambassadors.
Pavel Datsyuk will be the first dance4life Ambas-
sador among sportsmen!

4. Dance4life, ROSDANCE and RADIO RECORD
develop youth music festivals
WITHOUT drugs
As part of the St. Petersburg performance of the
world-famous DJ Tiesto and the best DJ of Russia in
2007 and 2008, according to the DJ.RU version, - DJ
FEEL - and the Moscow music festival of electronic
music “TSEKH” (SHOP), the dance4life team organ-
ized a number of preventive events, with the support
of the ROSDANCE Company and RECORD Radio.
During the open-air event on Krestovsky Island
in St. Petersburg, the Moscow dance4life team, to-
gether with St. - Petersburg and Gatchina dance4life
volunteers, in addition to performances on stage,
distributed informational materials, organized flash
mobs and a fundraising event.
In Moscow Crocus Expo - the largest exhibition
complex in Russia - tens of thousands of quality dance
music fans and the most current electronic DJs of the In the SHOP - dance4life video was broadcast on all
world gathered at the legendary event with a unique monitors.
concept - SHOP. In the SHOP - the best dance4life dancers danced on
Over the years the festival has become something the stage.
more than just a dance event. The technical equip- In the SHOP - more than 1 000 people participated in
ment is compared well with that of the best shows of the dance4life quiz.
the world, the stage performances are created by In the SHOP - hundreds of people painted the
the best directors and producers, performances and dance4life logo on their bodies.
installations are exclusive. In the SHOP - more than 1 000 people made dona-
tions to the dance4life development in Russia.
The main heroes of the “TSEKH-2009” festival were: In the SHOP - thousands of people were awarded
international dance4life Ambassador DJ Tiesto and with more than 3 000 condoms, 1 000 bracelets, 500
Russia’s Ambassador DJ FEEL. badges and 100 T-shirts with the new brand.

5. News rain
from regional
partners
Izhevsk
At the end of the vaca-
tions, from 28 to 31 of August,
2009, there was a Republican
session of volunteers on the “Peer
to Peer” program in Udmurtia. About 250
boys and girls from all over the country
gathered to share experiences and
plan volunteer activities in Udmurtia.
The most vivid and memorable
event of the session was the launch
of the International dance4life Project!
There was an atmosphere of friendship and
mutual understanding. With a genuine interest the
Lipetsk
participants were discussing the problems of HIV in- The project volunteers planted a flower bed of red
fection, the youth were concerned about, and to- flowers shaped like the ribbon of solidarity with peo-
gether performed the energetic project dance. ple living with HIV.
In the days following the launch the project team On the Youth Service Day, an event present-
and the guys from the “Light” volunteer teaching unit ing the project rebranding was held: the volunteers
held “Life Skills” lessons for the participants and to- performed a dance in T-shirts with the old logo, and
gether with the volunteers of the republic identified then, unexpectedly took the shirts off and appeared
the ways of further realization of social projects. before the audience in the new brand.
The end of the summer gave a strong start to vol-
unteering in Udmurtia!
Volgograd
Orenburg Sensation! The dance4life project won the hearts
of the participants of the “Orlenok” (Eaglet) All-Russia
Children Center in Tuapse District. Over 1500 boys and
The dance4life rebranding has agitated Oren-
girls from 50 regions of our country took part in a bright
burg.
event of the last of the summer. The guys learned the
An event was organized as part of the All-Russia project non-stop: first, they were struck by a bright
action “Youth Train”. The event involved 130 volun- presentation of the project, then the project team
teers. visited specialized sessions: “Explore Russia,” “Young
The highlight of the program was: celebrities, Rescue”, “Team of the 21st Century”, held in August
participants of the “House 2” project - Olga Buzova 2009, and afterwards they were training the dance,
and Yevgeny Kuzin. They showed great interest in the taking the “Life Skills” course, and, finally, the guys real-
project, learned the dance and, together with the ized their social projects on the day “Be a dance4life
volunteers, participated throughout the event. Volunteer”. In the evening they had a mega-party
At the evening concert at the “Orenburgie” - the final dance4life event at Star Square. For two
hours the children danced, fulfilled the tasks and, in
Center, participated by Vlad Topalov, “T9” group and
conclusion, performed the dance4life final dance!
“ChP” group, with the audience of more than 2 000
“Orlenok” gave us lots of emotions, joy and smiles!
people, Olga and Eugeny, staying on the stage, said
they liked a great deal in Orenburg, but most of all
they were struck by the dance4life project. They kept Rostov-on-Don
repeating: “dance4life”!
It was impossible to trace the large number of sto- At the initiative of the Y-PEER Network, a “Peer
to Peer” interregional festival of youth theaters was
ries in the media about the project that day.
held in Rostov Region, September 22 to 26, 2009.

6. Rostov dance4life team took part in organizing team, Dance Saturdays have come to the south of
and implementing this important event. Visitors the country. The purpose of the project is to raise the
from 11 regions of the country, including dance4life awareness of youth about HIV and AIDS issues and
participants from Ulan-Ude, Balakovo, Chelyabinsk, the dance4life international movement. In support
Barnaul, Tomsk and Gorny Altai came to the Don of dance4life, many dance groups performed and
land. The subjects of theatrical performances were: healthy lifestyle contests, with prizes and gifts being
HIV infection, drugs, reproductive health. awarded, were organized on Dance Saturdays.
Rostov volunteers also performed a play at Thanks to the support provided by the AIDS Center,
the Festival to show the problem of drug use and information booths were installed, where everyone
friendship of young people. could test his/her knowledge on HIV and AIDS and
The experience of participation in the festival get professional advice and small gifts.
showed that the use of theater in pushing back HIV The Dance Saturdays Project was also supported
is encouraging to students. After each performance by the Youth Department of Rostov-on-Don City Ad-
the audience actively participated in the debate, ministration and the «Make a Connection» Program.
trying to answer the questions facing them and figure
out what led the characters to particular
situations.
“Our dance4life
team has got unique
experience in
preventing HIV and
promoting healthy
lifestyle. We are
leaving the festival
with great inspiration.
In Rostov, we will make
new performances to
help youth be healthy
and happy”- said Ksenia
Skogoreva, dance4life
volunteer.
A series of Dance
Saturdays was held last
summer in the Rostov-on-
Don parks.
This project was initiated
in the Republic of Buryatia
in 2008. Now, at the initiative
of the Rostov dance4life

7. Special Heading:
interview4life with
Svetlana Izambayeva
What inspired you to participate in the
project and why have you become an
Ambassador?
I have become Ambassador for the dance4life
project because I think it necessary to speak on the
issues of HIV and other dangerous social diseases.
When I was a teenager and studied at school, no one
told me anything about the problem. So I was not
aware of the need to properly take care of myself,
be able to say ‘no’ and necessarily use a condom. To
be able to say ‘no’ is very important for every self-es-
teemed young woman. That is the information I want
to convey to the audience of the project. After all,
dance4life is notable for its addressing young people,
and it is young people that are primarily affected by
HIV. Furthermore, the project is interesting in that peo-
ple are provided with information and united through
the dance - it is very important because dull lectures
and numbers are not always exciting for either adults - make the world cleaner, kinder, lighter. I believe that
or young people. It’s great that this project works. each of us can do it. Because each of us has some-
thing inside, that can help us change the society.
Do you love to dance and do you think
dance music is a weapon to combat What are your work and life plans in the
HIV? near future?
As to my life plans, of course they are related to
I like all kinds of music, depending on my mood. my children. I have two of them: daughter Eva-Mar-
More often it is light, calm music; as to the text – it ia and the younger boy Adam.
must bear deep meaning. I love to dance very much. Concerning my work plans, I would really like to
Moreover, I conduct a club for women with HIV. To- present a TV or radio broadcast discussing the issues
gether we tried to express our feelings and urgent of women’s health and rights - women in general,
problems through dance, with the help of a profes- not even associated with HIV infection. According
sional choreographer invited. We “danced the prob- to statistics by regions, the primary and secondary
lems through”. Unfortunately, not all people are able prevention in Russia covers mainly urban areas. The
to speak aloud about their problems, not all have coverage of villages is less than 1%; for comparison,
been taught this ability. It is much easier to do this overseas, in America for example, the coverage is
through dance. Dance helps both express one’s pain 80%. People usually listen to radio, watch TV to a
and deep feelings and unite different people. lesser extent - in the morning and on weekends. We
want to find a radio station that operates in every
Would you participate in projects related village and make a live broadcast, with experts to
be invited. We want to make an interesting broad-
to HIV, if you were not infected?
cast in a single format for radio and television. And
I think that if I knew about HIV-infection as much also, with regard to my plans, I certainly hope to
as I know now, I would participate. Before I learned win the trial and take care of my brother, whom the
about my diagnosis, I was a very active person, in- guardianship department is now trying to put in an
volved in all school creative activities. At that time, orphanage after our mother’s death. Why, I am his
there were no volunteer movements or teams in the sister, willing and able to educate and support him.
village I lived in; we organized and realized all kinds of The fact is that there is a resolution of May 1, 1996, in
creative activities ourselves, we danced. Later, when the RF legislation saying that people registered as in-
I trained to be a hairdresser, I became interested in fected can not take care, patronage or adopt chil-
science – psychology and social assistance in partic- dren before they are struck off the register. I believe
ular. I want to help people in word and deed, as they that this resolution directly discriminates against
had once helped me. I feel that God has a reason to HIV-positive people and people who have hepa-
give me this trial and I believe that this is my destiny titis or infectious disease. It is ridiculous that people

8. with infectious diseases may have children, who are HIV, you need to learn to live again. Second is the
healthy, but can not take care or adopt a child. And development of nationwide women’s movement.
what about those who can not have children and When the movement is established, and it WILL be
would like to take a child from the orphanage? They, established by all means, we will lobby the interests
too, can be loving and beloved parents. And they of all women whose rights are violated. They will be
can bring so much happiness to children who are not only women with HIV infection. We will build ca-
deprived of parental love. pacities to help women self-develop and reveal their
status, otherwise their will be only quantitative, rather
What do you like to do in your spare than qualitative, indicators. Svetlana cannot be “re-
time? produced” to represent every city of Russia. In many
Russian cities, there are many girls, strong and crea-
I try to spend all my free time with my family – chil- tive but reserved for some reasons, who need help to
dren and husband. Walking with the family is happi- regain themselves.
ness. Generally, to be a mom is a great joy! I spend a I’m sure there will be anything if God wants it.
lot of time answering letters of girls who ask questions,
seek advice or support. I enjoy it, especially when I What is your motto and credo?
get feedback, when people write with gratitude that From my childhood I have been very fond of
I have helped them - either by answer or my own ex- Mayakovsky’s poem about the poet’s conversation
ample. with the Sun, where there are the words “... shine al-
ways, shine everywhere, shine and nothing else mat-
What is happening now in terms of your ters, that’s my slogan and the Sun’s.” My name is
work? Sveta (the name is originated from the Russian word
‘свет’ – light, shine) – and that’s my credo. Shining.
I am now actively developing two actually paral- Shining with love, optimism and kindness. When you
lel directions. First, I develop women’s group of mu- shine, people beside you begin to glow, too. When
tual aid. With the help of dance, through art, through you smile, people smile in response. You give your
an active life position, we can teach people, who love - people feel it. You share information with peo-
have learned that they have HIV, to live with dignity, ple, and people themselves begin to reach for new
to live a full life. After you have learned you have knowledge. That’s my motto and credo!
FOCUS-MEDIA Foundation
16 Polessky proezd, building 1, office 221
125367 Moscow, Russia
Tel.: 276-11-23/24/25/26
www.dance4life.ru