Plus 1 from dance4life at Kubana festival

Post-Release

Plus One at the KUBANA Festival This year, KUBANA attendees were seen with “+1” pins, including the well-known VJ on MTV-Russia, Tutta Larsen

By wearing the +1 pin, Tutta Larsen supported the drive to get regularly tested for HIV and TB, and affirmed her participation in the nation-wide campaign aimed at TB prevention and health-maintenance “Your health in your hands. Get informed!” A few years ago, Tutta Larsen joined the well-known photographer Serge Golovach on his project “Your health in your hands” and was photographed with her x-ray, along with 30 other politicians and entertainment stars of the stage, film, and television.

PR-Director, dance4life, Russia: Yulia Koval-Molodtsova Russia ● 125367 Moscow ● Polesskiy Proezd, 16, Str. 1, Office 221 T/F +7 (495) 276 11 23, Mobile +7 (962) 928 13 69 ● pr@focus-media.ru, www.focus-media.ru www.dance4life.ru

The +1 pins were distributed to all Kubana 2011 attendees who stopped by the table with the dance4life sign in bright red letters, during the breaks between their favorite performers.

Everyone interested could get a +1 pin, along with other prizes from representatives of the international youth campaign, for correctly answering trivia on personal health and how to protect oneself against dangerous infections and illnesses.

Many came more than once. And those who answered several questions correctly in a row also received a free condom.

With every +1 pin another person found out how to protect themselves against HIV and TB, and what they need to do to stay in good health! According to the organizers, over 2500 pins “flew off the shelf”!

Polina Vasilieva, dance4life’s volunteer coordinator: “Over two thousand festival attendees received useful and relevant information on their health. This is not just a ‘+1’ for us, it’s a huge plus for them!”

One of the most active participants was a man who came up to the table with his 14 year old daughter. By taking part in the quizzes, he also taught his daughter about reproductive health and how to protect herself against HIV, TB, and other illnesses.

The musicians did not stand aside, but also supported the activists.

Noggano aka Basta, who has already participated in other events organized by dance4life Russia told the crowd, “It’s important to talk to people about AIDS, not to frighten them, but to tell them the truth. I have friends who are HIV-positive, and it was of course tragic when they received the diagnosis, but they managed to cope with it and move on, and even have wonderful, healthy children. I hope that you all stay healthy, love one another, and use contraception.”

Noize MC is known for supporting important social causes, and health preservation and the fight against AIDS is also important to him, “To be honest, I am surprised that there are people out there who still don’t know the simple ways to preserve their health – that you need to use protection, and get tested periodically. Friends, take care of yourselves and your loved ones!”

Ilya Ostrovsky, the festival’s producer and General Director of STROVA-media: “I have known about dance4life’s work for a long time, since 2005, when the project first came to Russia. They do important work, and we are more than happy to support them! In fact, both the musicians and festival-goers are also supporting the campaign, as 50 rubles from every ticket sold will go towards dance4life’s expansion throughout Russia.”

The team also rolled the short video “HIV: How to stop the epidemic” which uses easy-toread and up-to-date infographs to teach viewers about the state of HIV/AIDS in Russia. You can watch the clip here on youtube: http://youtu.be/F-IpnN7Tp3E

Valentina Agafonova, dance4life’s Event and Goodwill Ambassador Coordinator remarked after the event, “Kubana’s organizers were fantastic. Despite the enormous amount of work they already had, they were responsive to all our needs and always ready to help. We hope that next year even more people will find out about us and come test their knowledge with our trivia, and take away a positive and responsible attitude towards their health!”

About dance4life: This is not the first time that dance4life-Russia has worked with organizers of major events, and they know how to use flash mobs, trivia quizzes, body art, etc. to get people of all ages and social statuses interested in learning more about HIV, tuberculosis and sexual transmitted illnesses.

Dance4life uses innovative and fresh approaches by working through youth culture to deliver information on preventative behaviors. Dance4life’s popularity is not just a trendy social fad, but a real opportunity to draw attention to health issues and stop the spread of HIV. Many celebrities support dance4life’s work – DJ Tiesto, DJ Fedde le Grand, top Russian artist DJ FEEL, singer-actor Aleksey Vorobev, supermodel Doutzen Kroes, TV journalist Vladimir Pozner, producer-actress Katerina Von Gechmen-Valdek, hockey player Pavel Datsyuk, and many others. More information on the project can be found at www.dance4life.ru.

dance4life Russia would like to thank the organizers of Kubana 2011 music festival and all the musicians and representatives from dance4life Moscow and Rostov-on-Don who participated, as well as our partners the AIDS Healthcare Foundation and the Lilly MDR-TB Partnership, for supporting our activities at the festival.