Young dancers perform during a Christmas ballet event in Kibera slum, one of the busiest neighbourhoods of Kenya's capital, Nairobi on Dec 21. Photo: AP
With perfect pirouettes and plies, dozens of young ballet dancers gracefully moved between the makeshift iron houses of one of Africa’s largest urban slums, spreading Christmas spirit.
Hundreds of residents in Kenya’s Nairobi cheered as the nimble ballerinas, wearing Santa hats and sparkling colorful outfits, turned the dusty narrow roads of the neighborhood of Kibera into a dance-worthy stage on Saturday.
The annual show was a hit.
Young girls line up to get their make-up applied at a salon, prior to the start of a recent Christmas ballet event in Kibera slum. Photo: AP
Organised by the Kibera Ballet School, one of the east African country’s smaller institutions that provides free lessons to children who otherwise wouldn’t have had access to this kind of training, the production was the result of rigorous practice.
For months, the children rehearsed in modest community halls while juggling their household chores, which included fetching water in plastic jerricans in the neighborhood with no clean running water.
Like the rest of Africa, Kenya boasts of a youthful population - with a median age of 19 - and the ballet school, funded by a local non-government organisation, aims to give some of them a creative outlet.
Organised by Kibera Ballet School, a small East African institution offering free lessons to children, the production showcased the fruits of rigorous practice. Photo: AP
For Kibera residents, the early Christmas ballet show is a celebration of community resilience and creativity.
"We don’t have grand stages here, but we have talent,” one observer said and he watched the dancers.
As the final routine ended with a synchronized bow, applause echoed throughout the neighbourhood.
At that moment, the future for these young dancers gleamed a little brighter. - AP
