Tumbling with vulnerable children in Buenos Aires

Glittering jewelry, mobile phones and cameras were supposed to stay home as The National Danish Performance Team visited a poor neighborhood in Buenos Aires to do workshops with vulnerable children.

Even the teams broad-shouldered local truck driver was nervous about approaching the area. The National Danish Performance Team was to visit Club Virgen Inmaculada de Villa Soldati and hold workshops with local children as part of a campaign for children's rights.

"It was a extrodinary experience. We visited a wild environment and at the same time we were responsible for movement and play," says Thea Lunde Høgh, gymnast on the National Danish Performance Team.

The children had worn clothes on and many of the buildings in the area were dilapidated. Instead of barbed wire fences, shards of glass were cemented to the top of the walls to keep uninvited guests away. There was no soap available at the toilets, and the doors could not be locked, nor was it possible to flush out. But the surroundings quickly faded for the gymnasts as they began to get ready for the activities with the kids - then it became a day like any other - with focus on providing a good experience.

Before the workshop started the gymnasts had pumped up their airtracks and the children quickly took advantage of this to play and jump on.

"All the children seemed very grateful that we were there. It was as if they had never tried use an airtrack before. We could not get them to stop tumbling again once they had tried it," says Mille Marie Johnsen, gymnast on the National Danish Performance Team.

The gymnasts started the day by doing a workshop and ended by performing a part of their show to everyone in the area. It was a special experience for the gymnasts - and certainly also for the children who participated.