The Real Slumdog Millionaires: Ballet School In Africa's Largest Slum

The Kibera Ballet School situated in Kenya is changing lives of the children living in the largest african slum in Nairobi. The school is part of a program known as Anno's Africa for the betterment of slum children's future.

According to The Guardian, Kibera ballet school has been formed in collaboration with a ballet studio named Karen from the upper class area of Nairobi. It selects children from the group and lets them be a part of productions at the National Theatre situated in Nairobi. It is a lifetime experience for the young talents to showcase themselves in front of such a huge audience. Approximately 95% of the total population of KIbera lives below the poverty line. This unique venture by Anno's Africa has made the slum dwelling children confidence of living with dignity.

The class is conducted under the guidance of Mike Wamaya, a teacher who also got trained at the National Theatre. The kids move freely and turn a cold, grey room into a cheerful ballet studio, as many others from the slum look at the proceedings in awe. Many of these dancers practice at the Karen ballet studio due to lack of space in the slum classroom.

Cooper Rust, the artistic director of Dance Centre Nairobi has said that some of them are so good that there is no difference between the regular students and the kids from Kibera regarding their skill sets. Many of these kids get scholarships for their studies from universities all around the world and dream of studying there when they grow up.

In an interview with the Dance magazine, the teacher, Mike Wamaya shared the experience of teaching in the slum school. Speaking about the students, Wamaya said, "Their concentration level in academic classes has improved, leading to higher grades. The program has also helped the kids open up and discuss personal issues with me."

Recently, four students were selected through auditions from the group by Ms. Rust to train full time with her. These dancers in the age group of 12-14 years take more than 10 classes in a week. It includes men's class as well. The selected students are living in a small boarding house near the school and their academic expenses are completely sponsored.

In a country where approximately 95% of the population lives below the poverty line and many kids regularly die of internal conflicts, diseases and malnutrition, The National Theatre's effort to change these vulnerable lives is a great initiative. A country's future depends on the future of its children and an improvement in these lives reflects on the overall society.

TagsBallet, Dance, Slum, Africa, Nairobi, KIbera