A troupe from a dance school in Argentina’s Buenos Aires province performed a ‘tribute’ to victims of the Holocaust in a dance performed on the television show, Got Talent Argentina. A clip from the show capturing the dance was posted to the show’s YouTube channel on Monday.
The video shows the dancers coming out onto the stage dressed in the blue and white striped pajamas of concentration camp internees to raucous cheers from the audience. Each performer also wore a yellow star of David bearing their name.
The dance troupe appeared to be comprised of youths, most of whom were seemingly in their teenage years.
Among the troupe is even a small child.
The dancers all wore makeup to make themselves appear pale and malnourished. Makeup was additionally used to make their eyes look gaunt and their faces appear beaten and sore.
"We are from the AB Dance School in Lomas del Mirador, Buenos Aires province. We are here to present a contemporary dance choreography created by our teacher Alexia Bartulli, based on real events," one of the dancers, Luana, tells the judges. "Our choreography is based on World War II and focuses on the Jewish genocide. Many of us have family members who went through that situation, so we decided to pay tribute to them."
The dance commenced and the troupe moved to music from films such as Fiddler on the Roof and Schindler’s List.
Throughout the performance, screams can be heard as if they were going through the horrors of life inside a Nazi camp. The littlest child clings to a large teddy bear as the dancers move around him.
The performance ends successfully
By the end of the dance, most of the troupe had lost their pajamas, apparently having been stripped down, and the dance concludes with another round of thunderous applause.
The judges proceeded to review the performance positively and unanimously voted for the group to proceed to the next round of the competition.
"I thought it was spectacular. It's very responsible to bear such wounds and convey them on open television,” one of the judges, La Joaqui, a popular Argentinian singer said. “I congratulate you. You are truly special."