GloCAP held its first Bali workshop with 14 girls and 16 boys. Artistic director Suzanne Grégoire facilitated an exploration of flowers through dance, taking inspiration from native Balinese flowers and flowers plucked from the children’s imaginations.

Students rehearsed two hours a day and created small paper flowers with Ayu Ramayani, or Mama Ayu, the Center’s Manager. Enriched with paper flowers, ribbon wands, and silk fans, student dances grew into a five-part performance touching on: planting seeds; growing buds; falling rain; blooming flowers; and the finale, “Our Garden”.

Suzanne built cultural exchange and cooperation into the workshop by initiating conversations between the BOC students and students at the Children’s Shelter Foundation River Farm (CSF), in Chiang Mai, Thailand (see Thailand posting) who would be participating in a similar workshop later in the summer. In keeping with GloCAP’s mission, students learned about each other’s native flowers, cultures, customs and favorite foods, and viewed footage of each other‘s work, shared images of where they lived, their landscapes and temples, thereby discovering differences and similarities.

The two-week workshop culminated in an evening performance for a large invited audience where boys danced two pieces, girls another two, and all danced the finale. Audience members received paper flowers and made donations to BOC. GloCAP provided art materials through 2025, and funds for costume supplies and ongoing dance and music programs.

Dance Rehearsals

Making Paper Flowers

Bali Orphan Center Dancers

Performance Day