BALANCE
Courses for kids nurture young talent In today’s high pressured world, school is not enough for the ambitious parent seeking to develop his or her progeny’s talents. Dancing, painting, singing, acting and photography classes are all on the menu for children across Romania, and new courses COURTESY OF YOUPI
keep emerging to keep up with the ever-increasing demand. BR talked to some of the trainers and managers to get some tips for those seeking this sort of enrichment for their offspring. Corina Dumitrescu Children’s Film and Television School Micile Vedete (The Little Stars) aims to help children overcome their fear of being in the spotlight and appearing in front of the camera, explain the managers behind the idea, sisters Ema and Ariana Pendiuc. It all started in May this year, after the two returned from the Cannes Film Festival, where the short film Magda, directed by Ariana and produced by her sister, was selected for the Short Film Corner category. “When we came back, we wanted to share our experience with oth16
The vocational courses that children take also help develop their social skills, professors say
ers and we immediately thought of children. If you learn the basic elements of this domain as young as possible, if you realize from an early age that you have talent and this is your path, then you have more chances for the future,” says Ema Pendiuc. What qualifies the two sisters in this area? Ariana explains, “My sister has been working in television for several years, and has even produced a children’s show (…). Meanwhile, I have been working quite a lot with casting agencies and children for commercials.” Other teachers at the Micile Vedete School are all film professionals: directors, image directors and actors, as well as people with a background in television, says Ema. At the moment, 60 children aged between 5 and 11 take film and television classes at the two headquarters that the school has in Bucharest. Ariana adds that, in the future, schools will be set up in other locations across Romania. In spite of the crisis, parents continue to prioritize developing their children’s talents and building their future, says Ema.
The school also offers classes for parents, aimed to help them understand their children’s needs better, but also to consolidate their relationship. Courses take the form of weekly film and television workshops done in a simulated television studio. Memory, stage movement, diction, improvisation, imagination stimulation exercises, professional photos and casting participation are all part of the curriculum, culminating with the making of a short film featuring the children. The next round of courses begins in January, with registration starting in December. However, if television and film stardom are not quite what you have in mind for your little darling, art is another option. MORA Foundation courses (More Opportunities for Romanian Artists), part of the I Love Bucharest public art program, were begun in 2005, further proof of the foundation’s support for art development and one of the first such suppliers on the market. The teachers are artists involved in the ILB projects, who also hold teaching experience. Classes consist of paint-
ing, shaping and cutting exercises, all part of learning a variety of techniques. Although the crisis has put the classes beyond the reach of some aspiring families, say the foundation’s officials, there are students who have grown with the courses, and who have brought their siblings and friends along. Adult art lessons are also available, following demand from parents. These ten-session modules are held on weekday evenings, while those for children take the form of five-session modules, organized depending on age, during weekends. No preselection is necessary for the art classes, the only conditions have to do with age, in the case of children, and interest, for adults, say officials. “Developing skills is our mission,” adds Mihaela Miron of the MORA foundation. Painting, acting and handcrafts seem to go well together, at least in the case of Step in Art, created by Irina Tanase from a EUR 5,000 investment, which should be recouped in the first semester of 2011, she says, demonstrating that such vocational schools are an investment worth consideration nowadays. Step in Art classes are for children and teenagers aged between 4 and 18. A maximum of seven students can attend a group course in art, aimed at teaching children basic drawing skills which may be developed more intensively. Acting classes are given by young actresses and include games, improvisation, role playing, diction, as well as scenic movement. No preselection is held for these courses and, in the case of talented children, recommendations are made for more qualified institutions, says Tanase. A new center will be opened in Bucharest in the second half of 2011, she adds. Analia Selis, a well-known singer of Argentinean origins based in Romania, has recently started Sonidos, a center for lifestyle courses, serving both adults and children. Children’s acting courses and fun dance exercises, physical exercises for adults, as well as specific exercises for pregnant women are all on the center’s menu. Selis says the establishment was created to “help students make music in groups,” but was extended to supply other services, which will be further developed BUSINESS REVIEW / November 8 - 14, 2010