Once again, this story starts with me surfing around for some sort of televised entertainment. To my unexpected surprise, in HBO On Demand, I found a short documentary called “Ghetto Ballet.”
A documentary taking place in South Africa, it portrays the country’s ballet program Dance For All, a means for the poorest African children living in townships to learn how to dance and study abroad, most notably in Paris, as well as to become new professional members of Cape Town’s ballet company.
What blew me away was seeing these kids committed to a dream, and eagerly embrace ballet as a means of getting out of their severely impoverished circumstances and for making a difference in their own lives. You don’t see them resorting to “gangsterism” and becoming thugs and thieves that poverty could motivate them to become; instead, they focus on how to live well, and use ballet and exercise as a means to do so.
And, as someone who has had a few ballet lessons and still appreciates a dance performance now and again, I thought it was great to see something as beautiful as ballet celebrated. I could also likewise empathize with the plight of Sibahle, who is told that she has to work on her weight.
I suggest checking this out, because it’s not really very long- 34 minutes. If you’ve ever loved dance and the arts, check it out. (And, leave a comment on the filmmaker’s blog.)
Lex Gets Physical 
Ghetto Ballet is showing in Atlanta on 7/17 in conjunction with the
National Black Arts festival.
It’s a wonderful short feature. I hope a lot of people come out to see it, and that African-Americans can connect with the story of South African kids.