An internet video changed the life of Anthony Mmesoma Madu, 11, in Nigeria. In the video, Madu dances ballet, barefoot, on wet ground while it is drizzling over the city of Lagos. His performance made him a global hit on social media – and earned him a scholarship to the American Ballet Theater.
The renowned ballet company in the USA confirmed the scholarship for a program lasting several weeks on Twitter. In addition, Madu has received another dance scholarship in the USA, whether in Los Angeles or Montana will be decided, it said in a message. In the coming year Madu wants to travel to the USA.
“I am very happy about the scholarship in the USA”, Madu told the dpa. “But even when I feel happy, I am sometimes nervous about leaving my family and going to another country,” he said. But he has an effective remedy for his worries: “When I’m nervous, I just do a few ballet steps and then I feel better.”
Little demand for ballet lessons in Nigeria
Many parents in Nigeria have been reluctant to send their children to ballet classes, said the boy’s dance teacher Daniel Ajala, who posted the video of Madu on Instagram in June. “They feel that it is a satanic dance that goes against African culture.”
But Madu could not be dissuaded from his dream: “Although I know that the people in Nigeria don’t dance ballet, I told myself that I want to become a professional ballet dancer. I said to myself, I can just be different, I don’t have to do what others do. ”He wanted to represent his homeland internationally in the future. “Ballet makes me happy.”
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