In Pictures

Gallery|Arts and Culture

Kenyan children learn ballet at Kibera slum

Classical music, colourful clothes and teachers’ voices mix to turn the grey cold room into a real ballet studio.

slum ballet
Kibera is the biggest slum in Africa. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
By Fredrik Lerneryd
Published On 14 Sep 2016

Nairobi, Kenya – With more than 2.5 million people in some 200 settlements, the slum dwellers in Nairobi represent more than half of the city’s population and occupy merely 6 percent of the land, according to a report [PDF] released in 2014 by the African Population and Health Research Center.

As the biggest slum in Africa and one of the biggest in the world, Kibera houses some 250,000 of them.

Every Wednesday at Spurgeons Academy, a school in the middle of the indecipherable maze of Kibera’s narrow streets and alleys, students take the chairs and benches out of a classroom and sweep the floor. 

The school uniforms are switched to bright-coloured clothes.

When teacher Mike Wamaya enters the classroom, the students get into position and place one hand on the concrete wall as though it were a ballet bar.

Classical music plays out of a small portable speaker, and the class begins.

The Ballet class is part of Annos Africa and One Fine Days charity activities in slum areas around Kenya. Apart from ballet, the children can choose dance, music, creative writing and film. In Nairobi they work together with two schools in Kibera and one school in Mathare, another slum closer to the city centre.

“Ever since I was a kid and watched ballet on our TV, I wanted to dance and one day become a ballerina,” said Pamela, one of the students from Kibera who was very happy when she signed up for the ballet class. 

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The children sweep the floor preparing the room for the day's ballet class. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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slum ballet
Some of the older girls practise a dance routine. A group of curious onlookers always show up to observe the ballet classes. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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Mike Wamaya is a former professional dancer. The ballet class was put together by Annos Africa, a charity that also helps to organise other art classes in more slum areas around Kenya. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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With almost 30 children practising in the small classroom, space is limited. Wendy and the other kids move carefully to avoid bumping into each other while they dance. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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The ballet slippers are very precious for the group and they make sure they are well maintained and stored. Even though they mostly practise barefoot, they use the shoes to advance their techniques. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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Some of the older students train one day a week in a better ballet school in Karen, an affluent suburb of Nairobi. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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Pamela and the other girls dance at the studio in Karen. Here they can perform every move without the limitations of space. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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Cooper Rust, the artistic director at Dance Centre Kenya, located in Karen, says that even though the children from Kibera train without shoes on a concrete floor in a small dark room, they are just as good as the children who train in her studio a few times a week. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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The mix of classical music, colourful clothes and the teachers' voices guiding them through the steps turns the cold, grey room into a real ballet studio. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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George, 13, is one of the older students, and he is part of the group that trains at the studio in Karen as well. When the teacher needs to take a call or leave the class for a few minutes, George is quick to make sure the class continues. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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Cynthia and two boys from the group hand out ballet shoes to the rest of the group. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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The shoes are donated and often they don't fit the dancers well, but they still make a big difference for the children when they practise on the old concrete floor of the classroom. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]
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'When I was young I saw ballet on TV, I liked the dance and the pointing shoes, and I have wanted to be a ballerina since then,' said Pamela, 13, one of the older students in the class. [Fredrik Lerneryd/Al Jazeera]