"I am an artist, teacher, producer, and have been working since 1997 in the fields of dance, education, and cultural production. I received training in different dance styles since 1994, and due to my interest in languages and teaching, I graduated in "Teaching Portuguese and English" from the University of Évora in 2003. My interest in studying the body from different perspectives led me to explore alternative therapies, and I became a certified Massage Therapist at the Lisbon Institute of Traditional Medicine in 2013. My life does not follow a linear path, a single sequence, neither professionally nor personally, as I have changed countries and cities multiple times. Professionally, I have worked as a teacher, dancer, massage therapist, producer, road manager, and tour manager for various musical projects. Despite this diverse range of work, there is a common focus in all the projects I have been involved in and continue to engage with – art/education/community. Since 2021, I have been a trainer for ACM (Alto Comissariado para as Migrações) in Intercultural Education, a role that seems to bring together the different pieces of my life while still welcoming new challenges. With great joy and a sense of commitment, I thanked Madalena for the invitation and joined BOWING in 2021. I started by getting to know the children and young people. Car rides – picking them up and taking them home with many conversations in between. English, Portuguese, Spanish, Hindi, Nepali – always questions and answers that varied in language, sound, rhythm – the movement of languages along the movement of the road. These children had a strong relationship with the entire Bowing team and wanted to dance, free themselves, be together in places they knew but that at that moment took on a different meaning. In rehearsals, we hugged, laughed together, learned dance sequences, sang, used improvisation to generate new ideas, and there was space for each person to find their place. The journey was challenging, but we reached another point in our lives at the end of this path. These young people carry many emotions with them. Many and constant, always radically opposite – I love being here, I hate being here, I don't know how I feel about being here... Do I really have friends? Who are they and where are they from? What does it mean to be from here or from Nepal? How do I build my identity? Should we really stay here, and should I commit to integration, or is it not worth it because we are just passing through? What do the looks I receive from others mean? What looks do I give to others? Then there are the adults, those who are always working. Sometimes so tired that they don't have a body that allows them to think as much as the young people. Some are alone, others with families. The difficulties are enormous – maintaining one's culture, adapting to another with little time to do so... The responsibilities of home, work, money, and family consume the space and time of adults. They smile at the idea of entering a community hall to dance, talk, sing, be with others from different communities and cultures. I think at first, they didn't believe that vision was real. Maybe that night of dancing had been just a dream. But suddenly there is continuity. More people arrive, and every weekend they come together to share that experience. It's the positive experiences that transform our minds in relation to others and ourselves. It's positive experiences that make us continue to believe in the existence of other paths and ideas. It's positive experiences that unite us and make us engage in dialogue. I remember many conversations, but also movements, expressions, looks, smiles that didn't need words. My strong memories of Bowing? The people from different Eastern countries. Children and youth – strong, sincere, happy hugs. Dance, smiles, and tears. Personal conversations about dreams, loves, and also about sorrows, loneliness, and discrimination. The strength of these hugs is the strength of Bowing within me. How children and young people came together in this desire to give and receive through dance. And the adults – those who didn't want, couldn't, or couldn't find space within themselves to experience new emotions, and those who found the space for a burst of joy and self-esteem.