Russian Orphans Sing for Brighter Future

Those in the audience didn’t mind at all that they couldn’t understand the words to the songs. What mattered was that the performers, dressed to the nines and singing their hearts out, were talented and incredibly cute.

The singers and dancers, sixteen Russian orphans from St. Petersburg, kicked off a two-week tour of Southern California at Adventure City in Stanton on Tuesday. They will perform at churches, universities and at the epitome of American culture: Disneyland.

At the end of the tour the children, who range in age from 6 to 14, hope they won’t have to say dos vedanya to the United States. Their expectation is that at least some will be taken in by American families.

There are about 5,000 orphans in St. Petersburg, said Ronald Stoddard, president of Nightlight Foundation, a Brea-based international organization that sponsors the annual tour.

Adoption rates have plummeted, he said, because of the dismal economy in Russia. So the foundation brings a group of orphans here each year in hopes of finding American families who want to adopt them.

The children, who were chosen for the trip on their basis of their talent, regularly entertain large audiences in their hometown, said Olga Pavlovich, director of Nightlight in St. Petersburg. And in the Russian tradition, the children take the arts very seriously.

Though the youngsters’ dedication was apparent, that did not keep them from entertaining the possibility of joining an American household. After only two days in the United States, Yury Telitsin, 12, summed up his experience this way: “California is a very good place.”