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The authors | differently
Remember the boy who danced barefoot in the rain?
Lagos, Nigeria.
On the muddy land, Madhu, an 11-year-old boy who grew up in the slums, is practicing his dance seriously.
There were no ballet shoes, no applause, and the aunt who was washing clothes behind her didn't bother to look.
Yet he was immersed in the dance, dancing over and over again, correcting every movement, every detail.
It is true that he did not dance as a professional ballet dancer, but the love that blossomed in the barren land touched countless people.
And the follow-up to this dance is also very warm.
The dance school attached to the famous New York Ballet Theater, seeing the boy's love and persistence in ballet, offered the 11-year-old Madhu a full scholarship.
After taking three months of online courses, Madhu will go to the United States next year to receive more professional dance training.
"My friends didn't know what I was dancing, and my parents didn't know much about ballet..... But I love ballet, and when I dance, I feel like I'm on top of the world. ”
Because of dance and love, the fate that belongs to Madhu has changed unconsciously.
After Madhu received the acceptance letter, Madhu's ballet teacher Daniel wrote this sentence to the boy:
"You are a lamp, never let anyone, any force cut your light."
If ballet opened the door to Madhu's dreams, Daniel planted the seeds of dreams for Madhu and more African children.
Ballet is not popular in Nigeria.
Born into a poor family, Madhu did not have the money to sign up for ballet classes.
The ballet school daniel founded was completely free.
Say it is a school, that is, an empty house and a small yard, not even a mirror.
Ballet puts the rods all found in iron pipes and welds themselves.
The founder of the school, and the only teacher, Daniel, is a self-taught ballet dancer.
At the age of 13, Daniel's love for ballet was out of control because he watched the movie "Keep the Last Dance", but he did not have the money to go to expensive dance school, and had to teach himself through the Internet and books.
Practice again and again, correct again and again, I don't know how many detours have been taken.
A pair of ballet shoes, worn for several years can not be changed.
Keep practicing, keep improving.
After 10 years, Daniel's dance is getting better and better, and he began working as a dance teacher at the dance school in Lagos.
Daniel wanted to go abroad to meet better dancers and improve himself, but he was not wealthy enough to study abroad and had to receive a full scholarship.
However, after applying to several schools, Daniel was told again and again that even though he danced well, as an African, he was not eligible for international scholarships.
His dreams were frustrated, but his inner perseverance was not shaken – he wanted to bring the beauty of ballet to more people.
In many parts of Africa, ballet is regarded as a distant existence, and even many people feel that Africans are not suitable for ballet, and men are not suitable for ballet.
Daniel wanted to change that perception, even a little bit.
So, in 2017, at the age of 26, he opened a public welfare dance school in his hometown to teach children ballet for free.
From the beginning, the school was located in his house, and the open space outside the house was where the practice was.
Later, a businesswoman funded it, so that a slightly larger house could accommodate more children to practice.
The cost of running the school is entirely borne by Daniel.
Not only will children be taught ballet for free, but they will also prepare dancing shoes and skirts for children, and even for some particularly poor children, Daniel will provide them with lunch.
All his savings, the money from the show, the money he used to teach in the school were put into the school, but Daniel felt it was worth it: "There is nothing that makes the teacher happier than the students who want to learn." ”
Many of those children, many of whom had not known what ballet was before, daniel taught it from the most basic hands and did not let them take the detours they had taken.
The essence of education is that one tree shakes another tree, one cloud pushes another cloud, and one soul awakens another soul.
When Daniel opened the door to dance for these children, they, like Daniel, threw all their love into it.
The place where the training began was small, and ballet shoes were in short supply, so everyone put cardboard on the ground outside and practiced the basic skills barefoot.
<h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > without practicing the lever, just practice against the wall. </h1>
As long as there is open space, you can dance.
With love in the heart, everywhere is the stage.
Life is not rich.
Most of the children here have already tasted the hardships of life at a young age.
But as soon as you dance, you feel joy.
They are real black swans.
As long as there is any opportunity to perform, no matter how young, Daniel will take the children to participate, even if there is no cost, he also hopes that the free and beautiful dance of this group of children can be seen by more people.
Watch the group of children dancing wildly on stage.
Once upon a time those mocking voices:
"Africans can't learn ballet well"
"What is the use of learning ballet?"
"What ballet do boys learn"
.......
Gradually disappearing, more and more people see the power of love.
Some people began donating dance shoes and dance costumes to the children of the dance school, and Daniel also contacted professional ballet dancers from all over the world through the Internet to ask them to provide some online instruction for the children.
Their dances have led the world to believe:
As long as there is a dream, the barren land can also blossom with the flower of hope.
Even if you don't live a rich life, there is beauty and love that will not compromise.