Last year, we were offered the opportunity to have the Christian ballet troup, "Ballet Magnificat!" here in Banja Luka and we decided it was an opportunity we couldn't miss. We had a contact who knew someone in the National Theatre, and so when things worked out for us to get that, we knew we made the right decision!
We decided it would be a fundraising event for the Children's Home and for the special needs school. Ljilja did all the heavy lifting of working out where to host them, their transport, etc and it all came together wonderfully in the end. The story was of the Prodigal Son, and it had such a lovely message of love and reconciliation.
We were a bit concerned that we wouldn't sell enough seats, and although we didn't fill the theatre, it was close, which made for a good time for everyone! Including our volunteers (pictured above with the company) who helped man the doors and hand out programs. The Minister for Education and Culture came with her granddaughters along with the local press - we made the nightly news on the National TV station: https://www.rtrs.tv/vijesti/vijest.php?id=600092
In the morning, Ljilja and I took some of them on a tour of Banja Luka, and here they are in front of the theatre with the posters for their performance (and looking like very different without their performance make up!)
In the evening, we had a great photographer come and take pictures, and it captures just a slice of what it was all about:
