Kenya's slum ballet school – in pictures
The Kibera ballet school is part of the Anno’s Africa and www.onefineday.org projects working in slum areas in Kenya. Weekly ballet classes are held by the teacher and former dancer Mike Wamaya. In collaboration with a ballet studio in Karen, an upperclass area in Nairobi, young dancers are given the opportunity to be part of productions at the city’s national theatre
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A view over Kibera, the biggest slum in Africa
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Pamela is part of a ballet class in Kibera, the largest urban slum in Africa. About 95% of the population in Kibera live below the poverty line. Dance is a source of joy and happiness for Pamela but also a way to get out of the slum
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The ballet slippers are precious for the group and they make sure they are well maintained and stored. Even though they practise barefoot, they use the shoes to improve their technique
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Wendy is practising while the other students observe and cheer her on. They take turns and learn from each other
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Halfway through the class, the children train one by one. This is where they can move freely and practise their skills and dance moves
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A group of students getting ready for the class in Kibera
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Classical music, the teacher Wamaya’s voice and the colourful dresses turn the grey, cold room into a ballet studio
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Some of the older girls practise a group dance in front of onlookers
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‘When I was young I saw ballet on TV, I liked the dance and the pointy shoes, and I wanted to be a ballerina since then,’ says Pamela, 13, one of the older students
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Pamela and the other dancers at the studio in Karen. Some of the children from Kibera have become so good that they train there instead. Here they can practise every move without facing limited space
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Cooper Rust, the artistic director at Dance Centre Kenya, says there is not much difference in skill between the kids who train at her studio and those in Kibera. Here she is working with Dickens, 13, on his dance
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George, from Kibera, is appearing in the Nutcracker
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Four of the Kibera dancers had roles in The Nutcracker at the national theatre in Nairobi before Christmas. George and Shamick watch the show backstage during rehearsal
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Pamela is watching and waiting for her turn onstage during rehearsal at the national theatre in Nairobi
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Some of the dancers prepare to go onstage while George is performing in the lead role
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Pamela being interviewed by a German TV station after the premiere of The Nutcracker. Many of the older dancers have won scholarships; Elsie, for example, has her school fees in Kenya payed by a school in Wales, and she hopes to study at university in Wales when she is older
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