‘Dance is beautiful’: Kenyan slum reaches for ballet stars

Dancers from underprivileged communities are seen at the backstage area during the production of the 'Nutcracker' in Kenya. Photo: AFP

Bravian Mise hits a series of grand jetes – leaping like a gazelle across the cramped living room – and pirouettes during an exhaustive rehearsal at his home in a Kenyan slum.

The 13-year-old has been practising ballet for four years and is among a hundred or so children who have been rehearsing for months to perform Tchaikovsky’s Christmastime favourite The Nutcracker in Kenya’s capital Nairobi.