The children’s dance performance “Panama Is Very Beautiful” is based on the beloved book by Janosch (Horst Eckert). With the language of dance and music, it tells a story in which even the youngest audience members can recognize timeless values—happiness, friendship, and the ability to find beauty and joy in every moment.
The creative team—composer Silvija Miliūnaitė, librettist Sondra Simana, choreographer Daria Verovka, music director and conductor Giedrius Vaznys, set designer Sigita Šimkūnaitė, costume designer Sandra Straukaitė, and lighting designer Andrius Stasiulis—worked to ensure that art merges with meaning and that visual beauty becomes storytelling.
Daria Verovka, a member of the KVMT ballet company and a young choreographer, says that “Panama Is Very Beautiful” speaks to children through the language of dance about eternal values—friendship, happiness, the joy of discovery, and many other beautiful things. The audience will experience the journey of familiar characters—Little Bear, Little Tiger, and Duck—and see what unexpected discoveries await them.
Set designer Sigita Šimkūnaitė subtly incorporated plastic objects into the stage design, creating a stream, fish, flying elements, and other important details. In this way, the performance invites us to reflect on whether we consume responsibly and think about future generations. This fairy-tale world is enriched by Silvija Miliūnaitė’s music, which, according to conductor Giedrius Vaznys, “seems to tell the story on its own.” Costumes by Sandra Straukaitė and lighting by Andrius Stasiulis add joyful magic to the performance.
The book “Panama Is Very Beautiful,” written in 1978, is one of the most beloved children’s books in Germany and was awarded the German Youth Literature Prize. An opera based on this work was staged in Berlin, and generations of theater lovers have grown up with this story and cherish it to this day.
Don’t miss the chance to dive with your whole family into a bright, heartfelt, and inspiring fairy-tale world where Panama truly is very beautiful.
Act I
Bear Cub, Tiger Cub, and the only one they love and protect, Tigress Duck, live in a white box. Their world is paper-made, safe, and clear. They use disposable objects, so a great deal of trash accumulates around their little home.
One morning, while sleeping in a hammock, Tigress Duck has a colorful dream—a box tied with a pink ribbon. As she tries to open it, she falls out of the hammock and wakes up. Tiger Cub asks what she dreamed about, but Tigress Duck does not reveal the dream—it is her secret.
Life continues as usual. Tigress Duck draws black-and-white mushrooms for Tiger Cub and fish for Bear Cub. While fishing, Bear Cub notices a bottle floating down the river with the word TREASURE written on it, but calmly lets it drift past. In the evening, all three admire Tigress Duck’s drawings, but immediately throw them away by the pile of trash—just like everything else in this world.
That evening, Tigress Duck remembers the dream. Secretly, she draws a box with a pink ribbon, leaves it by the river, and leads the end of the ribbon into the forest. Tiger Cub becomes interested in the ribbon and, following its trail, meets Bear Cub. Both think it might be a foreign package and open the box.
On the bottom of it, written in pink, is PANAMA, and from inside spreads a sweet, enticing scent that makes the friends feel dizzy. They decide that PANAMA must be the name of the land the scent comes from, and they decide to find it.
Tigress Duck ties the pink ribbon around her neck, Bear Cub turns the box into a sign with the word PANAMA, and Tiger Cub packs the duck’s drawings of mushrooms and fish into a backpack.
The trio prepares for the journey. Their world moves for the first time—the black-and-white paper box is left behind, and Tiger Cub, Bear Cub, and Tigress Duck set off on a path full of color and adventure, in search of their dream country—Panama.
Act II
The friends’ journey continues. Falling asleep by the campfire, they slip into a dream and find themselves in a dark underground space—a snake nest. Holding a burning torch, Tigress Duck leads Bear Cub and Tiger Cub through a narrow corridor.
Suddenly, violet snake eyes flash in the darkness—it coils around Bear Cub, then Tiger Cub, trying to hypnotize them. Tigress Duck manages to grab the sign marked PANAMA and bravely confronts the snake. After a short fight, she defeats the monster and wakes her friends.
Rain begins to fall, as if washing away the darkness of the dream—they wake up and continue their journey, following the direction of the sign.
The path leads them to a giant tree, at the top of which sits a proud raven. The friends ask if he has seen Panama, and the raven, lifting his beak, invites them to climb up. Using the sign as a staff, Bear Cub helps everyone reach the top.
From above, a marvelous view of the world opens before them—the land, the sky, and colors that grow ever brighter. The friends hold the sign like a flag, and the raven becomes their captain. At such a height, Tigress Duck becomes afraid and urges them to go back down—now she knows which way to go. The raven says goodbye and flies away, and the friends move on.
Soon they reach a small bridge over the river. Along the way, the bottle with the word TREASURE floats past them again, but this time they only wave and continue forward. Tigress Duck suggests crossing the bridge with their eyes tied shut using the pink ribbon.
When they untie it, a familiar sight opens before them—their old home. But everything around it has changed: the pile of trash has turned into a green hill, the box-house is covered with blooming flower beds, and the house itself shines with color—a red roof, blue walls, green doors, and pink shutters.
Bear Cub and Tiger Cub rejoice—they have finally found Panama. After all, it smells so good, feels so right, and is so colorful—just like Panama. Tigress Duck smiles quietly—she recognizes her true home. Now it is their Panama world, full of color, light, and joy.
Tigress Duck rests again in the hammock, Tiger Cub picks mushrooms, Bear Cub fishes. White smoke rises from the chimney—a sign of peace. Suddenly, once more, a bottle with the word TREASURE floats by down the river. This time, all three jump up together, run, and grab the bottle—their TREASURE is finally found.
