Fredrik Lerneryd Captures Ballet Magic Of Mike Wamaya's Kibera Dance School

The sun rose in Kibera this morning, and it rose in my world, too, with my rapture over these Fredrik Lerneryd images of ballet dancers in the Kibera neighborhood of Nairobi. They are my best Christmas gift.

Anne of Carversville has a long psychological, emotional and now functional relationship with Kibera. Initially, my lovefest with the largest slum in Africa was triggered by JR's famous 'Women Are Heroes' project, with Kibera being one of the four slums featured in his everyday examination of the beauty and heroic female efforts worldwide. Over time I pieced together collection of intimate and deeply personal connections to Kibera through my muse Dan Eldon.  The functional dimension of AOC's connection to Kibera is GLAMTRIBALE's support of The Kibera School for Girls, with 5% of revenues. Another 5% is earmarked for elephant conservation.

The dancers photographed by Fredrik Lerneryd learn dance through a program run by UK-based charity Anno's Africa, which provides alternative arts education to over 800 children in Kenya. Huff Po explains:

"Taught by Mike Wamaya, who previously worked throughout Europe as a dancer, Anno’s ballet classes focus on both the physical and mental well-being of the 40 or so students who take part, promoting the confidence-building necessary to carry these kids into adulthood."

“I came in contact with the dancers while I was working on another story,” Lerneryd explained to The Huffington Post, “and I felt really moved [by] what I saw.”

His ongoing series, filled with images of floating bodies and expressive faces, focuses less on the rigorous craft of ballet and more on the visible determination of the people practicing it. A few of his photos also provide perspective on the realities of informal settlements in Nairobi, a city that is home to more than 2.5 million people in approximately 200 slum areas.

In the same way that Lerneryd observed how the confidence of the dancers grew as they mastered core ballet movements, I was captivated by the young students at The Kibera School for Girls singing ; 'Yes I Can'.

After the initial sequence of images taken in Kibera, Lerneryd shares photos of four of the dancers from Kibra's dance program who recently moved to a boarding school outisde the slum, in order to tain at a ballet studio in Karen. This December, the four aspiring dancers are taking part in 'The Nutcracker' at the National Theatre in Nairobi.

Preparing to launch GLAMTRIBALE online on January 1, 2016, I spent these days last year pulling together all the critical links to AOC content that defined my relationship with Kibera. I will repost those links shortly, along with a personal reachout to Fredrik Lerneryd. You can follow his Instagram page here.

Happy Holidays to all. ~ Anne