The rain dripped and dripped onto the ground, and the potholed dirt became more and more slippery because of the rain.
Anthony Madhu, an African boy living in a slum, did not slack off on the teacher's homework because of the rain and the slippery ground.
He walked to the middle of the courtyard, there was no music, the sound of rain was accompaniment, he danced every day, and his family, who was accustomed to it, did not bother to look up to appreciate it, and looked down to wash the clothes in his hands.
Anthony began to stretch his arms, tiptoe, spin, and jump.
Gradually, he forgot the wetness of the ground, forgot the intrusion of the rain, and gradually filled his heart with the joy brought to him by the dance, and unconsciously, a smile appeared on his face.
He felt like a lark, walking through thick clouds and climbing little by little toward the top of his dreams.
Anthony Madhu is an extremely ordinary black boy living in Lagos, Nigeria.
If it wasn't for ballet, it wasn't Daniel who let him see the beauty of ballet and devoted himself to running the school for free and teaching him to learn ballet.
Perhaps, he would be trapped here for the rest of his life, in a small nameless town, to marry his usual wife, to live a life as poor, backward, and hopeless as other Africans, and then, to die quietly.
But now, Mr. Daniel opened a window for him that he hadn't thought about, and in the window was written dreams, and written that if he worked hard, he could change, change the mediocrity that perpetuated his ancestors.
He wanted to go out from this window, to see the vast world outside, and to live a life that many people did not dare to imagine.
And this is the reason why he continues to work hard, face ridicule, incomprehension, pain, and not give up.
He didn't expect delicious pie to fall from the sky, he knew that reaching his dreams required layer after layer of strength ladders to be filled by effort.
But perhaps the goddess of fate saw his efforts, smiled slightly, and opened the door of his dreams.
The video of him dancing in the rain was posted online by the teacher, causing a frenzied retweet and finally reaching the phone of Cynthia Harvey, artistic director of the Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis Dance School.
Watching the video, the artistic director who had watched countless famous artists dance was stunned, she did not expect that a barefoot African boy, in such a bad natural environment, could interpret the beauty of ballet so vividly.
Barren and elegant, the starlight in the child's eyes, the faint smile on his face, shook Harvey's heart, jacqueline decided to help the boy, to create opportunities for him, to help him reach the top of his dreams.
With his influence, Harvey soon helped Antoni Maddule receive a full scholarship for the "Young Dancers" summer seminar.
After a three-month online course, I will go to the United States next year to participate in further training on the Ballet Beyond Borders scholarship.
Anthony is getting closer and closer to his dream, as long as he continues to work hard, and when he experiences bigger and harsher setbacks than now, he still does not give up and continues to grow.
His dream can be realized, and it is possible to stand on the stage of ballet and shine.
Anthony laughed, he was still a child, and had not yet learned to restrain his excitement.
The doubts and ridicule that africans could not learn ballet well and that boys were not suitable for ballet disappeared.
Anthony was lucky, but behind his luck was not only lucky, but also his day-to-day efforts that we don't see.
As he himself said, "My mother sent me out to run errands, and I would dance ballet before I left." Ballet is my life, my practice everywhere. ”
After Anthony received the acceptance letter, Mr. Daniel wrote the following sentence to him: "You are a lamp, never let anyone, any force cut your light." ”
If ballet opened the door to Anthony's dreams, Daniel was the one who sowed hope for him.
Daniel did not have professional ballet training, his ballet knowledge is through the Internet, books to teach himself, did not get a full scholarship to study abroad like Anthony is Daniel's biggest regret.
He applied to several schools, but was told that even though he danced well, as an African he was not eligible for international scholarships.
It is a pity that he cannot study abroad without a scholarship, but it does not extinguish Daniel's love for ballet, and his love for ballet has never changed since he watched the movie "Keep the Last Dance" at the age of 13.
He keeps practicing and improving.
After 10 years, his dance has become more and more outstanding, and he has begun to work as a dance teacher at the dance school in Lagos.
If he had been like this all along, he would have been well fed, even if he had not been very wealthy.
But Daniel wanted to promote this art of self-discipline, dedication and dedication, and he believed that through the study of ballet, students could bring these qualities to all aspects of life.
In Nigeria, dance is a luxury, and many children can't afford to even go to school, let alone dance.
In order to promote, in order to let ballet add some opportunities to more children's lives and achieve their dreams, Daniel decided to run the school for free.
In 2017, a public charity ballet school was born in Lagos.
At first, the school was set up in Daniel's house, and the open space outside the house was where the practice was held, but later, with the financial support of a businesswoman, a slightly larger house was built to accommodate more children to practice.
Daniel bears the cost of running the school alone, and he prepares the children's dancing shoes and skirts, especially poor, Daniel will also provide lunch.
Daniel put all his money into the school, and he felt it was worth it, saying, "There's nothing that makes the teacher happier than a student who wants to learn." ”
The children had never been exposed to ballet, and Daniel started from the very basics and taught them by hand, not wanting them to take detours like they had been.
The children saw the beauty of ballet, felt the changes that ballet brought to themselves, and they, like teachers, devoted themselves to ballet.
The school conditions are simple, there is no floor suitable for dancing, only a cheap carpet is laid on the ground, there is no handle, no mirror, and even because of poverty, children who study ballet do not even have dancing shoes.
But this can't stop the child's heart to be beautiful, they have been working hard, they have been striving for the best.
No shoes, barefoot practice.
Didn't put the pole, practiced against the wall.
The training place is small, and cardboard is cushioned on the ground outside.
As long as there is a clearing, they will jump, and the movements will stretch freely, like soaring swans.
Years will not fail to live up to those who work hard and persistently.
After several years of training, Daniel's students are elegant and generous, no matter where they stand, it is a beautiful landscape, and the concept that ballet is not suitable for Africans to dance has gradually changed in many people's minds.
As the only boy in the dance school, Anthony is under much more psychological pressure than his classmates.
As he said: "In the place where I live, there is no male ballerina like me, people see ballet and think it is exclusive to girls, people don't know that ballet is not only for girls, I want them to know that there are male ballet dancers when they see me dancing." 」 ”
There were performances, and he was also excluded because people wanted girls to participate.
His friends watched him dance and thought he was dancing strange foreign dances.
Doubt, ridicule, and pain that no one understood were like mountains pressing down on him, but the wonderful feeling of dancing ballet made him reluctant to give up.
Now, his dream has crossed the world, crossed the borders, many people in the world have seen his dance, cheered for him, he is about to go to the international stage, the future can be expected.
He put on white dancing shoes, tailor-made black pants, and a white top embellished with translucent stripes, handsome like a prince.
A netizen said that Anthony is: "a child who lives in the cracks of the stone and strives to bloom a flower."
Yes, there is a dream in the heart, that is, in the darkness where there is no light, do not give up, even if there is only a glimmer of opportunity, you must squeeze out of the seemingly desperate gap, and then, blossom.
There is a line in The Shawshank Redemption: "Some birds are destined not to be kept in cages, and every feather of theirs shines with the radiance of freedom." ”
Anthony's efforts, Daniel's lifting, their best efforts, is that why, flowers and applause?
No, it's not.
They work hard because of their almost obsessive love of ballet, and they know that if they don't work hard and don't go out, they can't get rid of poverty, backwardness, and ignorance.
They are not only pursuing ballet art, but also fighting against fate, and they do not want to sink with suffering.
In the trough, do not work hard, satisfied with the status quo, can only stay in the trough.
Hard work, grasp the fate to give us, even the faint light, can warm our lives; seize the fate to give us, even the slightest opportunity, out of the bottom, can usher in an open future.
See the most beautiful appearance of the years and wait until the flowers bloom.
. END .
【Text| Du Xiao Dye】
Edit | Qian Zhongsu】
【Typography | Drizzle】
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