Dancers hope to make leap to a new life He’s inspired by a cheesy 20-year-old romantic film and learned his craft through YouTube videos, but in just two years Daniel Owoseni has trained students at his ballet academy in one of the most under-privileged neighbourhoods in Lagos to such a standard that the world is taking notice.
T
he rain is pouring down, collecting in puddles on an unsurfaced road in Lagos’
Ajangbani district, but it doesn’t seem to bother Anthony Mmesoma Madu. The 11-year-old ballet student is focused on his dancing, pirouetting in the puddles and performing soaring leaps, taking off on one bare foot and splashing down on the other. It’s a study in poise and focus oblivious to the harsh surroundings. When the video of Madu’s dance was released on Instagram, it went viral, garnering hundreds of thousands of views around the world with Hollywood actresses Cynthia Erivo
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