The project idea started from a social apartment in Romania. Some of us (volunteers at Atelierul European de Arta) were doing our activities with the youth from a social apartment from Bucharest, sector 6, and as usual, we were presenting a different form of art. We were not going there for a long time and we did not know the children so well, but we already worked with them with drawing, photography and creating handmade objects. That day was the first day when we were introducing dancing as a form of art. We will never forget the joy of the youth when they managed to understand the dance steps, when they left their worries and fears and they really started enjoying dancing. They never thought of dancing as a form of art and even though they danced before, this was the first time when they learned steps, danced in a group, got praised for learning so fast and felt free to put their emotions in dancing. We continued to go there and our program started focusing more and more on dancing. This is how we saw the connection between dancing and increased self esteem, between dancing and happiness (or forgetting about own problems). We developed the program and we are now implementing it in 4 social apartments (21 youth). We created a to do this list of needs and things to be achieved by youngsters: - Feeling of belonging (having more friends) - Believe in their own powers - Have a more positive self image - Meeting new people - Going to a new country (many of them never traveled) - Learning to dance - Feeling less worried when people are watching them - Finding a way to be happy - Developing a hobby Our aim was: Developing young people's self-esteem with the help of dancing. Our objectives were: 1. Develop participants knowledge regarding self-esteem, self-confidence, body image and of ways in which they can improve it. 2. Develop all participants dancing skills and assure that a minimum of 8 participants will continue to take dance lessons after the end of the project. 3. Help participants to develop a more accepting attitude towards themselves and towards other young people (including young people facing fewer opportunities) 4. Help participants to improve their confidence in working with and being in front of a group, to be more willing and prepared to use meditation and dancing as a form of suppressing negative thoughts and anxiety, and to improve their overall self-confidence. Our team studied the E + guide and we had a meeting to discuss how we can make the project align with the obj. and priorities of E+ (both national and international). Our conclusion is that we respond to these objectives: - Supporting young people in developing new skills and attitudes. The main skill we developed was the dancing one. After the project they learned to talk in front of a group, working in a team, communicating with people from other cultures and backgrounds. The project helped them to become more self-confident, develop trust, have a better self image and we be more tolerant with others. - Strengthen European values and break down prejudices and stereotypes. By involving youth with fewer opportunities and by offering them the chance to interact with people from other backgrounds and cultures, we helped them develop and break down their barriers. They became more self confident so they don't judge themselves and others. When it comes to national priorities, our project addressed: Inclusion and diversity. More than 50% of the participants are facing fewer opportunities and we believe this project helped them develop and gain more skills (and improve their attitude) in order to better face and to find solutions to the problems they are facing on a daily basis. We also promoted inclusion with the methods that we used, by working in teams and by preparing a great event where we also talked about inclusion, diversity, culture, self-trust and of course, we danced.