The little girl, not yet three years-old-was all dressed up in her taffeta and mary janes. It was Christmas. Though the little girl was giddy with excitement, her mother wondered if a night at the Nutcracker ballet was appropriate at this age. Tchaikovsky’s overture began and the little girl was enraptured for the next 90 minutes. During curtain call, she whispered in her mother’s ear “I want to be her” and pointed to the stage. 

Every girl deserves the chance to dance; to pursue her passion, to live freely and fully alive. For some, that may mean designing furniture, running a business, or baking cakes, repairing ACLs, teaching kids to read, you name it. 

But not every girl gets the chance to dance. Bondage is real. For some, hope seems so far away and it’s all they can do to make it to the next sunrise. This is the reality for victims of exploitation. It’s also the reality of a heart without Jesus.

Whether through stealing the innocence of more than 100,000 children involved in prostitution in the US, or whispering insecurity into the hearts of others, the darkness would convince us that we and our dreams do not matter. 

But there is hope. There is freedom. Every girl is endowed with the dignity that comes from being made in the image of God. And that’s a reason to dance! 

Today, the little girl in the mary janes dreams of more than tutus and tiaras; she dreams of bringing hope and dignity through dance. Bluebird: uncaged is a collective of professional dancers dedicated to using art for the greater good.

Our most recent project was inspired by Mary Frances Bowley’s book, The White Umbrella. Set against a backdrop of cinematography by Caleb Diaddigo to original music by Todd Locke, this choreographic story premiered in October at Dance Upon Injustice 2013. 

We believe this was just the beginning. Bluebird: uncaged wants to share the story of Wellspring Living and White Umbrella with a broader audience through an online video trilogy. We’ve launched an indiegogo campaign to fund this project. Use of the finished product as well as anything over our goal will be donated to Wellspring Living. 

We've reached quadruple digits! Huge thank you to all of our contributors. We've still got a long ways to go. Will you help us by spreading the word via Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc? Feel free to snag any of these graphics. 

Something we've been praying over this project: 

The people who walk in darkness will see a great light; those who live in a dark land, the light will shine on them. ~Isaiah 9:2  

Will you join us in this prayer?

Today is the day! We've launched the indiegogo campaign! 

//player.vimeo.com/video/95283125

White Umbrella – Indiegogo Campaign from Bluebird: uncaged on Vimeo.

Check it out here!

Inspired by The White Umbrella by Mary Frances Bowley (founder of Wellspring Living), Bluebird's next project artfully portrays the journey from bondage to redemption. Choreographed by Rebekah Diaddigo to original music by Todd Locke with cinematography by Caleb Diaddigo, this collaboration traces our heart's story from death to life. 

the project

A stage production of White Umbrella premiered at the anti-trafficking fundraiser, Dance Upon Injustice. But we believe this was just the beginning. In creating this trilogy we want to share the White Umbrella story with a wider audience. 

The goal of this mutimedia project is threefold:
-to tell the White Umbrella story cinematically through dance
-to raise awareness about the issue of sex-trafficking
-to support the work of Wellspring Living

art for the greater good

White Umbrella is about more than just making a video or telling a story cinematically through dance. Your contribution not only helps raise awareness about the realities of sex-trafficking but also equips Wellspring Living to restore lives of trafficking survivors.

Use of the finished product as well as any contributions over our goal of $7500 will be donated to Wellspring Living. Wellspring’s mission is to confront the issue of childhood abuse and exploitation through awareness, training, and treatment programs for women and girls.
 

thank you!

We are incredibly grateful for each and every contribution to this project. Thank you for being on this journey with us and helping to tell the White Umbrella story. 

PS-we'd be thrilled if you could show us a little social media love :-) 

Our most recent work, White Umbrella, has been an amazing journey. The creative process with Caleb, Todd, and the dancers was a complete display of God’s faithfulness. The premiere of White Umbrella at Dance Upon Injustice was a huge milestone for us in that we were able to use relevant and redemptive art to combat human trafficking. But we believe this is just the beginning.

White Umbrella has the potential to be a force for good; to speak hope and life to hearts and to bring restoration to trafficking survivors

This summer we are creating a cinematic trilogy of the White Umbrella to be released online in the fall. Tomorrow, May 14, Bluebird: uncaged will launch a 45 day indiegogo campaign to raise funds for the project. Anything over our goal of $7500, as well as the finished product will be donated to Wellspring Living. 

It’s both exciting and scary at the same time and we need your help. Statistically a crowdfunding campaign is more likely to meet its goal when 25% of the funds are raised in the first 5 days. More details tomorrow but would you consider giving within the next few days to kickstart this project? 

Grateful for each one of you! Thank you for being on this journey with Bluebird: uncaged.

Sincerely,

Rebekah Diaddigo