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Fortaleza, a city in the littoral of Brazil’s northeast region, has a landscape of beaches and sand dunes, an warm climate, and delicious diverse types of seafoods. A tourist paradise most of the times. I applied for a vacancy on a public support center for arts and dance. I expected to find a small poor community and be able to help in any way I could. But not too soon after as I arrived, the beautiful beach-focused city started to change radically, with violence in the streets becoming more prevalent all around. New legislations against crime and gangs were passed, and as a way to fight back, dozens of buses were being kidnapped and burnt all over the city. Banks were bombarded, and several establishments were attacked. The gangs declared war on the city and public spaces. Most outgoings were cancelled. No one wanted to leave their homes. Most public transportations were either cancelled or working on irregular hours. Malls were still open, but you could only get to them by car, and by using the right roads, which made them inaccessible for a lot of people, making the most the city often look empty and scared. But not everywhere. The Support Center for Arts and Dance was still open. Welcoming and teaching children during the morning and afternoon of weekdays. And since the buses were not a option, and the subway was basically non existent, I walked there every day during the morning. I started going down to the beach. During the war, it was the most active place in town, where almost every tourist went, and since people went there, the commerce still worked. Many wouldn't call it safe, there had been one attack there, but that did not stop the tourists, usually families or couples, to try to enjoy their time, and commerce to sell foods, clothes, and trinkets. The most popular area is the avenue called Beira Mar, or Sea Front avenue, and it gives an unique view of the sea. In the morning, when the sun would shine, was like the sea itself was shining bright against the shore for miles with no end. But once the tourist area ended, it became an empty area with a just a few residences, and few more blocks over, the poor neighborhood actually started, and that's where I entered. I expected it to be deserted, but it wasn't. Shops were still open and people were still out in the streets. Once in the center in that neighborhood, I taught dance classes to young girls who lived in the city and couldn't afford a private education and went to public schools, and whose families needed a place for them to stay during the day, while their parents worked. The children and the teenagers were excited to learn and I realized they liked to dance, but they didn't need it. All they needed was someone to watch over them and entertain them with something until it was safe to return home. And everyday, I moved through three different areas, residencial, tourist-focused, and favela to teach them ballet.While being scared of another bomb, when I saw all the tourists and shops on the streets opened and I felt safer. It was a community that was supporting itself . And during that walk I found myself enjoying the city, seeing the sea everyday was an unique plus, and the only thing i could do, was to keep doing the classes, teaching dances and ballet to girls. I met other teachers who also had to walk unsafe distances to teach, and they never complained, they were barely scared of the danger, and they taught me not to be either. When I expected to find just a tourist paradise, I saw the transition of how a regular city turned into a civil war, and in the middle of the chaos, I found people in need and people willing to risk their lives to help, to stay out and see the city. I expected to teach dance, and ended up being the one taught about courage and the power of communities.