Leap of Dance Academy Is Where Ballet Meets West Africa
At age 13, this Nigerian native taught himself to dance and went on to launch his own ballet academy a decade later.
The Instagram video of Nigerian ballet dancer, Anthony Mmesoma Madu, pirouetting above puddles in the rain has been viewed hundreds of thousands of times and counting. The 11-year-old is the hero the world needed in its dismal state illuminating with his poise, elegance, and grandeur.
Even Viola Davis captioned on Twitter that the video was a memento of “the beauty of my people. We create, soar, can imagine, have unleashed passion and love… despite the brutal obstacles that have been put in front of us! Our people can fly!”
Reminds me of the beauty of my people. We create, soar, can imagine, have unleashed passion, and love….despite the brutal obstacles that have been put in front of us! Our people can fly!!! ❤ pic.twitter.com/LNyWD2ZoU0
— Viola Davis (@violadavis) June 24, 2020
Madu is one of a dozen students ranging from ages five to twelve attending Daniel Owoseni’s Leap of Dance Academy in Badagry, Nigeria. The academy was founded only three years ago, Badagry is a coastal town approximately six hours from the center of the metropolis Lagos. It is a ballet school founded from an emotionally moving story like one you would imagine on the silver screen. Owoseni opened up the book of his life of dance to Vogue, revealing his triumphs and hardships.
There is a scarce number of ballet schools in the exclusive suburbs of Lagos, none of which Owoseni had access to. With no fairy godmother equipped to his destiny, Owoseni decided to create his very own fairy tale ending.
After watching Save the Last Dance at 13 years old, he began to teach himself to dance. “I basically learned all the fundamental principles of ballet through YouTube tutorials,” he says, now age 29.
Despite having birthed himself talent enough to be compared to the best dancers in the country, he was denied academic acceptance. “I was basically told that as an African I was not eligible for an international scholarship. It just seemed like blatant discrimination,” he expresses.
The remarkable dancer applied to schools across Eastern and Southern Europe with no luck. Nevertheless, roadblocks only lead him to a glorious reroute: Owoseni fulfilled his ultimate dream of opening a ballet school in his hometown. The ballet school would be for children like himself who could not afford the privilege to take ballet classes.
Thus, the next chapter of his life began, touching the world with the weight of its abundant grace. He began teaching out of his home prior to a local businesswoman offering him the free space of which he currently holds weekly classes.
Due to the world pandemic, his students have been remarkably practicing ballet outdoors every day. “People say that you can never do ballet the way it is done abroad because ballet is not an African dance, but for me it’s about making the art form our own,” he clarifies.
“There’s a saying here that nothing makes a teacher happier than a student who wants to learn,” he says. “Can you see what’s going on behind me? There’s a torrential downpour outside and they’re getting ready for class. Who wouldn’t be proud of these children?” That is an understatement.
You can plie, jete, chasse to the entire story of Daniel Owoseni’s influential ballet story of founding Leap of Dance Academy via Vogue here.
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