So that no-one feels left out, here is a video of their performance of the ‘Dagestan Dance’ from last year’s UK Tour.  I confess that it is my favourite dance – when the group come to the UK I get to spend a lot of time with the girls.  I love their contagious giggling, their constant running around, their ability to get everything organised, their sheer hard work.  But, they’re also no different to any other young women.  This dance, I think, really allows them to let rip, to whoop and holler and show off what energetic and talented dancers they are.  Enjoy.

Dagestan Dance from Peacebuilding UK on Vimeo.

Members of PBUK have sent video messages, which will be played on a large screen at the event, together with a message from our Honorary President and messages from other supporters in Europe.  Chris has written a message for the programme at this prestigious event. We have also learnt that a UK Parliamentary delegation plan to be there this evening.

I think that Chris’ words probably sum up just how far Daimohk have come in the past ten years, so I won’t say anymore…

Dear friends,

It gives me great pleasure to write these words of congratulation to Daimohk on your 10^th anniversary. This event not only marks an important milestone in Daimohk’s history, but also represents the huge success that the ensemble has achieved and the enormous interest and support that there is in your progress.

I first met Daimohk’s director Ramzan Akhmadov in July 1999 by a lake in Nazran, Ingushetia, together with my colleague Adlan Adaev and a few of the young dancers dressed in full national costume. War had recently broken out in Chechnya, and most of the ensemble were refugees. Against this background of misery it was clear that Ramzan possessed the energy, the vision and the talent to make these young dancers into something exceptional, and Peacebuilding UK has been proud to partner Daimohk on this journey to becoming a professional-standard dance ensemble with an international reputation.

The journey has not been without its difficulties. In the earlier years of Daimohk’s history, the desperate security situation in Grozny made dangerous even so simple a thing as a teenager’s journey from home to school, or to dance practice. This was one of the things that impressed me so much about Ramzan and his team – they saw the horror of the situation around them, but they focused on the positive and uplifting effect of their dance and culture, and used this to give the children and young people hope in the future and to build their self esteem and identity. This transformed the lives of everyone involved. Ramzan saw dance as a way to give a generation of children surrounded by violence and aggression a positive creative focus and emotional self-expression. Only six months later, Daimohk’s breathtaking and varied programme – from energising acrobatics and sword-throwing, to graceful formations and mesmerizing instrumental numbers – won the Chechen Republic’s Competition for Artistic Excellence.

This transformation was like a ripple that spread from Ramzan’s team and the young dancers all over Chechnya. But this creative ripple has reached far beyond the borders of Chechnya. The positive effects have been felt around Russia and Europe too. Despite the obstacles in Daimohk’s early years, the ensemble developed an excellent repertoire and reputation, which enabled the young people of Daimohk to become cultural ambassadors of Chechnya, travelling to many different countries, impressing and inspiring audiences. Tens of thousands of people have watched Daimohk’s concerts in over a dozen countries throughout Europe. The children of Daimohk have portrayed the strong spirit, grace and determination of the Chechen people to millions more people who watched their performances on European television.

The ensemble’s notable successes have included winning first prizes at the prestigious Llangollen International Eisteddfod in 2004, the Grand Prix at the equally prestigious Crystal Magnolia Festival in Sochi in 2005 and first prize again at the all-Russia talent competition ‘Delfiskie Igri’ in the city of Novosibirsk, Siberia in May 2008. In 2009, Daimohk was invited back to the Llangollen International Eisteddfod as star guests to perform on the festival’s final evening in the big hall to over 3000 people; this was shown live on Welsh television.

I have had the honour of helping to organise seven European tours for Daimohk over the last ten years. Today Daimohk has dedicated and committed followers all over Europe, who are always keen to know when the ensemble will return to perform again. Ramzan, Aiza and the young dancers have also taught their dances to school children in Britain and other countries, who have experienced the concentration and hard work required even to copy some of the simplest of these dance moves! This cultural exchange went further when dancers from the Chicken Shed Theatre Company in London taught the Daimohk dancers some of their own contemporary dance moves.

When Ramzan asked me and Peacebuilding UK to arrange for some of the older Daimohk dancers to study in Britain, we were able to secure places for them at a school in Devon where they completed their exams and have now gone on to study at British universities.

Throughout the ten years that Daimohk has existed, the situation in Chechnya has changed significantly, and the children who attend dance lessons today no longer face the obstacles that the original group faced in the late nineties due to the security situation. Daimohk’s role however remains as important as ever in providing hope, enjoyment, creativity and inspiration to generations of people in Chechnya, Russia and around the world. This year, we facilitated contact between Daimohk and a prestigious US international children’s festival, which has invited the ensemble to their annual event in the US this September. I very much hope that Daimohk will find the possibility to travel there, to share Chechnya’s rich culture and talented dance on another continent with American audiences.

I wish you Ramzan and your team and all the young dancers every success in continuing this vital work. All of your friends here in Europe very much look forward seeing you here again in the future. Congratulations and “Маршалла ду шуьга! МОГУШАЛЛА А, ИРС А, АЬТТО А ХУЬЛДА ШУН!”

Christopher Hunter, Programmes Coordinator, Peacebuilding UK

Of course we welcome donations the whole year round to support Daimohk, so please consider either a one-off donation or setting up a regular standing order.  More details on how on our Donations Page.

“Dans Grozny Dans” or “The Damned and the Sacred” DVD – £12+P&P

This is a documentary film about Daimohk by Dutch film-maker Jos de Putter in 2004. Jos and his team followed Daimohk, comprised  of children between the ages of 6 and 16, on their tour through Europe, filming them in Amsterdam, London, Krakow and Warsaw, and during their journey by bus through Europe and Russia. The film also shows the children practicing in the rubble of Grozny and performing in Amsterdam’s Concertgebouw and London’s Lyric Theatre.

“Chechen Tunes” – £5+P&P

Ten Chechen folk melodies by the musicians of Daimohk, recorded during a visit of the group to London.

2009 Tour poster – £1+P&P

This large tour poster features one of the Daimohk dancers who performed in the UK this year.  A great memento from the tour!

How to purchase

If you would like to buy either of these or multiple copies then please post a cheque payable to ‘Peacebuilding UK’ with your order, name and address to:

‘Peacebuilding UK’
Unit 7
Thorne Farm
Bude
Cornwall
EX23 0LU
England

or alternatively please e-mail info@peacebuildinguk.org with the above details and either forward us a cheque or pay through My Charity Page with ‘Daimohk Merchandise’ marked clearly in the message section.

We’re hoping that we can add all of this and more to our growing archive of photos and film.  If you took any photos of Daimohk or if you filmed any of the performances then we want to hear from you.  Maybe you have put a film up on YouTube or have some photos you want to share with us?  If so then share the link with us in the comments box or send a disc to our office address.

To make life easier I have set up a Flickr group to help photographers share their Daimohk photos.  In time we will add a ‘Gallery’ page to this site to enable all of the photos in the group to appear on our site.

Here’s how it works:

• Go to the Flickr website and create a personal account for free if you don’t already have one
• Follow the instructions to upload your photos onto your own personal Flickr page
• Visit the Daimohk Flickr group and become a member
• Go back to your personal Flickr pages, click on ‘Organize’ and then drag the photos you want to share into the middle of the page to create a ‘batch’ of photos
• You then need to click on ‘Send to Group’. Select Daimohk and follow the instructions
• Your photos will automatically appear on this page once the gallery page is created!

www.flickr.com/groups/daimohk

I’m hoping to get some photos and film up soon, but in the meantime, while I catch up on work and sleep you can watch a selection of films that Faye has added to her YouTube page, a short film from the masterclass at Kings Langley School on the BBC Russia site (in Russian) and read an article from the Daily Mail!

It’s hard to know where to begin with the thank yous, everyone has been so kind and worked so hard – this little blog hardly does it justice!

Chris Hunter, our Programmes Co-ordinator has, as always, gone above and beyond the call of duty to bring everything together.  Without his hard work sorting out visas, travel, accommodation, catering and venues this tour simply would not have taken place.  He has just a few nights kipping in his own bed before heading out to France to join Daimohk for the next leg of their tour.  How far things have come from a meeting with Ramzan in Chechnya back in 1999!

We owe a huge debt of gratitude to Ramzan and Aiza Akhmatov for their continued work developing Daimohk into the world class dance ensemble that they are.  From choreography to costumes they put in so much work to bring audiences superb performances.  It’s hard to comprehend that this dynamic and beautiful dancing springs from the ashes of war.

Alice Lagnado has done a fantastic job of raising the profile of the tour through the media – she has a fantastic energy and all of the kids are head over heels in love with her!  Louis Greig, PBUK’s Honorary President hosted the Gala Performance on Monday and kindly gave funds for a memorable day out on Sunday.  Thanks also to PBUK’s Trustees for supporting the tour and spreading the word and to our accountant Howard for balancing the books and dealing with the challenges a tour like this brings!

Faye Waterton, who has known Daimohk since they first started touring in the UK accompanied the group for most of the UK tour.  She is so much a part of the group that they have declared that she is an honorary Chechen – the girls worship her and the boys want to marry her!  Thanks also to her Mum, Lorraine Sheldon and family Abbi, Evan and Owen for helping out.

Mary O’Meara and Fran have been working around the clock to feed the group – no mean feat given the appetites of these kids!  Thank you both so much for putting up with requests for raw garlic salads and keeping us in supplies of yummy home-made cakes!  Hope you’re both getting a well-earned rest now!  Thanks also to Danny for allowing us to use the scout hut and clearing up afterwards!  Roisa, Magomed and Shamilt’s mother, who accompanied the group, has also worked incredibly hard cooking, cleaning and keeping the group in order!

We’re also grateful to Magomed Tutaev, former Daimohk dancer now studying Civil Engineering at Brighton University (and getting some astounding results it should be said!), for all of his help keeping the group entertained!  Thanks also to Calum for accompanying the group throughout the European Tour.

Aside from those who helped out, came to performances, wished us well and made donations to cover the costs of the tour we would like to express our thanks to the members of the extended Daimohk family who couldn’t make it – you know who you are!  Special mention however to Chris Layton, Camilla Carr and Jon James who were in our thoughts even though they couldn’t make it this time round.

“Большое спасибо” to these people and anyone I’ve missed out!  Hats off to you!

I’ve been with Daimohk since Thursday and I’m astounded at how much energy they have!  Bringing them here and hosting them is such a huge undertaking, but seeing them running around, laughing and playing I’m reminded how important this visit is.  Yes, they are amazing dancers, but first and foremost they are kids.  Hopefully coming on tour allows them the space to play around free from worry.

On Tuesday the group conducted a master class at Kings Langley School ahead of their excellent performance.  We were lucky enough to have a journalist from the BBC come along and film it.  Russian speakers can check out the film on the BBC Russian website.

Thanks so much to everyone who has pitched in to make this happen – our caterers, people in the press, everyone coming to the shows.  It means a lot that Daimohk are getting the profile that they deserve.

Right – two hours until show, time to do some last minute work!  See you later!

‘Daimohk just did an excellent workshop for around 40 kids from Kings Langley Rudolf Steiner School. A journalist from BBC Russia Online was there, so from tomorrow you should be able to see a 6-minute clip of the workshop with interviews (in Russian) on the BBC Russian pages.

At 7.30 this evening Daimohk will do a full 90-minute performance in the school’s theatre, nearly all the tickets have been sold (370).
Last night a similar sized audience at the Michael Hall School theatre in Forest Row were stunned and delighted with the performance there.

There are still many tickets to be sold for the two performances at Lilian Baylis Studio, Sadler’s Wells this Saturday 18th and Monday 20th July at 7.15. Go to here for information about how to get tickets. Please tell anyone you know who can get there, it will be an unforgettable treat!

Daimohk will have free days from tomorrow till saturday, and will be going swimming & sightseeing in London.’

If you are on Facebook then you can RSVP on our events page.  We are also on Twitter at www.twitter.com/PeacebuildingUK if you want to keep up to date with the tour!

I briefly met with Daimohk earlier on their way down to London where I will meet them in a few days.  It’s just wonderful to see children who I haven’t seen since 2006 growing into young men and women and to receive some big Chechen hugs from the group!  Their positive energy is completely infectious, so it’s such a joy to have a hand in bringing them over here to share their talents with new audiences.

In a little bit of bad news their trusty coach, which has carried them all the way from Grozny, broke down just half a mile from the Eisteddfod.  The problems have now been fixed, but this additional cost to the tour now makes it unlikely that Daimohk will be able to raise the funds they had hoped for on this tour.  So, if you are at all able, please consider making a donation to help cover the costs of the tour and their work back home.  You can go to our Donations Page to find out how to donate.

I’m going to be filming some of the performances in London to ensure that we can introduce more and more people to the wonderful talent coming out of Chechnya.  However, in the meantime here is a YouTube clip from their 2006 UK Tour of one of my favourite dances – the Dagestan Dance.  Many thanks to Faye for this footage.  Enjoy!

We’re also happy to announce that the performance at Michael Hall School has been successfully re-scheduled.  The details are now:

Michael Hall School Theatre
Monday 13th July at 7.30pm

Tickets £12 Adults, £7 for 18’s and under
Tickets available from the office at Michael Hall School, Kidbrooke park, Forest Row, East Sussex , RH18 5JA, or The Seasons,  Hartfield Road , Forest Row,  East Sussex
or Tel: 01342 825 083