Transcripts For BBCNEWS Kenyas Dance Discovery 20201230

It is just past 3 30am. Now on bbc news kenyas dance discovery. Before the first coronavirus lockdown, professional dancer, joel kioko, returned to his home, nairobi, to meet dance students from the citys thriving ballet scene. One month since the coronavirus lockdown started, 19 year old joel kioko completes daily ballet classes at his home in london, with instructions coming in from his teacher via zoom. Demi detourne. Derriere. Stretch out a little bit. Switch davant fondu. Second. Let go of the bar. Front reverse the port de bras. Back in february, joel was taking his final classes at the English National Ballet School and preparing for a major challenge the leading role in romeo and juliet at the Kenyan National theatre. With classical ballet, youre always learning something. Thats how i see it i dont know how other people see it and especially for me, because i started late, i have so much to learn. Joel has come a long way since his upbringing in the kuwinda slums, where his incredible talent was spotted. Hes the First Student from an emerging classical ballet scene in nairobi to train professionally in london. Sometimes, when i am in class, i am like i have never seen that before but i have to play with it because later on, ill go into the studios and ill play with a Certain Movement that ive seen that ive never seen before and ill practice and ill do until it will be perfect. But i think im comfortable to go out there and start dancing. I just want everyone to just get a job and dance. To reach this stage in the competitive ballet world has been hard work, and the dancers will take up places in International Companies when the current isolation period ends. So our third years will be taking auditions for companies outside, so they would have finished, they would have got they would get their diploma in july, after a school performance. They are already auditioning for all sorts of Different Companies all over the world so, you know, in order to find a job. Thats everybody. Head of year and joels tutor mr yow has guided them throughout. Ok, so last time we got to see you doing nutcracker. This afternoon, the class rehearsed pas de deux. Piano plays it is quite scary for the students to go out there in the big world after being in a school for three years with the same friends. But once youre out there, you have to look after yourself. So we actually, as a school, try to prepare them for that. Joel is one of our students. He is very professional. After hours of technical classes, later in the day the students get to practise their own choreography. Third year inniss piece is based on swan lake. Five, six, seven, eight you can choose any music and then you get four dancers or more, if you want. I have three. I dont have a name for it yet but ive chosen indian music. It is based on contemporary and kathak. You need that. I need that passe. Oh, wait, shouldnt we do this . We did a passe yeah, yeah, we did it. This is the beginning. Yeah. As well as the movements, joel is working out the soundtrack with his classmate ludmila. Its one of their last projects together before they leave college. Its a bit sad, because weve known each other for a long time and knowing that from next year, were not going to have each other to come to talk to, so its going to be very sad. As this chapter of their lives, the bonds formed during their halcyon days at college will stay with the students long after they have left. We are very close. We i think weve grown more into, like, very good friends. When i first metjoel, it was so interesting to hear stories of, you know, where hed came from. It is really quite amazing and inspiring how far hes come and how lovely he is as a person and a dancer. We share a passion. I think ive gotten closer with most of my school classmates. Everyone has started getting close but in the beginning, because it was new competition, no one really wanted to talk to anyone else, its really lonely. Sometimes you get homesick, i am not going to lie. Sometimes, when ive been Walking Around london and i see a picture of my mum on facebook while im on facebook, and i am like, oh, yeah, i miss my mum. For three years, joel has been living with a london family, so he has four new surrogate sisters. But now, joel will soon be reunited with his family as he has been offered a unique opportunity to return to nairobi to play romeo, with the dancer who first discovered him playing juliet. It is going to be boiling all day long doing ballet. Its going to be emotional because we share so much and, especially with romeo and juliet, its like its all about love. I know something good is going to be created. Soon, joel will once again meet the dancers who discovered him as a boy. Touchdown so were going to one of the studios, which is in hardy thats where were going but were going to rehearsal because we only have a week to put this on. Romeo and juliet is being staged under the directorship of american ballet dancer cooper rust, who founded dance centre kenya. Dance is taking over nairobi and even spreading beyond. The Employment Opportunities in the city that has 40 unemployment and now all of a sudden, theres dance teachers and it is an opportunity for people to make a living through dance and i am just as excited about training future dance teachers and having more of these little studios around nairobi and around kenya as i am about training dancers that are leaving kenya and going abroad, likejoel. Annabel shaw, playing juliet, from the northern and Manchester City ballet is on hand to greet him. Romeo and juliet is my favourite ballet. I think the score, prokofievs music, isjust to die for. I think its gorgeous. When cooper told me kind of, yeah, only five weeks ago, oh, youre going to do romeo and juliet. Youre going to be juliet. Joel is coming but he is not arriving until a week before the show, i was kind of like oh, 0k the cast have already been rehearsing for three weeks as joel arrives, with the Opening Night just seven days away. For now, i want you to get your tights and your dance pointe on. I dont have to put my tights, no . Uh, yeah, we have rehearsal until seven. Go ahead, next section. Everybody go with your partners. Michelle, you work with pamela, but michelle can help you discuss a lot. Joel is thrown straight in at the deep end as the company begin rehearsals for the ball scene, where romeo falls for juliet. I learnt a lot of the choreography beforehand because at least, if one of you knows it, youve got at least something to fall back on. But whats really nice is that, because we do know each other so well, a lot of the figuring out has kind of already been done over the years, so a lot of the kind of partnership and predicting where the other is going to be and how were going to fit together, weve kind of already done all of that, so that definitely makes it easier, as well. Do it again. Back up and set her back down. I would recommend not trying this the first time with a skirt on. 0k. Joel and annabel have just six more days to learn a one hour and 50 minute ballet. Let go of your dancers around. Things do not always go quite to plan, even for experienced dancers like joel. So lets hear this musically, this whole section. Step, up, up. Dance. Music playing by the end of the first day, joel has already learnt the first pas de deux. I do not even think about it. I see its just a dance thats it. As long as i keep on repeating it, thats why we have rehearsals, it will be there. The movements, i have seen them, and thats i think that is why i remember them. I have seen them before, you know the names, you know the terminology and i guess that is why it is easier to remember. Through artists for africa, a charity set up by cooper, more children from the slums are hoping for a career in dance. Cooper fosters eight of them, including 12 year old michelle and 13 year old lavender, who regularly travel to rehearsals after visits to theirfamilies in kibera. Im from kibera slums, which is one of biggest slums in kenya, and i love it there because i was born there and im from there. And that is why i started dancing. You, like, have to do everything correctly, like, arms and put your legs where they are supposed to be but then africa is like, you are just free, you can do anything. For now, i want to be a professional dancer when i grow up, yeah, because i love it so much. Keep them its very hard. Withjoel as their role model, the young people cooper has fostered from the slums, and others like them, believe a career in dance and an escape from poverty is possible. Joels friend silas is the First Certified male ballet teacher in kenya. It is a growth for me. I see it as a growth of talent and growth of art in our country, not only here at dck, but as a country at large. It shows that there is a Bright Future ahead. Dance teachers going out into schools around nairobi through artists for africa are inspiring the next generation of children from the slums. 1, 2 1, 2. Sometimes the kids come from slums, they have a lot in their heads so when they dance they free up their minds. The kids can choose what they want after a dance. Maybe others want to be an engineer, maybe others want to take dance as a career. So it is up to us to show them the way. Today the cast are learning the scene where tybalt kills romeos friend mercutio and, in turn, romeo exacts his revenge and is banished from verona. Five, six, seven, eight. One, two, three, four, down, up, down up. Learning the fights is hard, not to mention the acting. You want him and them to be friends now after 20 years of hating each other. So dont grab it. Na uh uh its even the fingers in the. Dont. Im serious. Details matter. Its not fingers in front as if youre grabbing him. Its fingers in back as if youre saying hey, excuse me. Its a very different gesture. As well as the fight scenes, joel must learn the harlots dance with benvolio and mercutio. Romeo juliet morning dance when theyre not in the main rehearsals, joel and annabel practice in a side studio. It has gotten on ok. Tiring. But im getting there. Almost done with, like, with the first act almost finished. By the end of the third day, joel almost has the ballet done. This is absolutely insane. Him learning all of romeo and juliet in three days. Weve got about six minutes left here. An hour and 56 minutes or Something Like that. He just has a few minutes left to learn. And itll be done this evening. With the castjust needing to fine tune their routines, joel is absolutely exhausted. Getting the show onto the stage at the Kenyan National theatre seems a long way off. Finally, theres a break in rehearsals for romeo and juliet, so annabel is taking joel to visit his mother. Its going to be nice. Have dinner. Hang out with my mum. Because i havent done that in a while. Mum many of the families here were forced to relocate after a massive fire, including angela. Angela has seen her son transformed since the days he started dancing. He told me he was going to dance and then he was angela has seen her son transformed since the days he started dancing. He told me he was going to dance and then he was dancing, everyday dancing. At first i wasnt taking it seriously. I didnt know that dancing was done for, maybe, for a career. Joel regularly returns to kibera, where he used to give ballet classes to the children at the angel kindergarten. Me teaching the kids was always fun, stressful sometimes, because i didnt know how they would react to it. You see them smiling, you see them happy. They are talking, they are dancing. I was very eager to learn in the beginning when i started doing ballet. It was through an Outreach Programme like this thatjoel first met annabel. We were both really young. I was maybe 1a and joel was 13 or 12. But i sort of spotted joel. He was always coming in, he was always on time, and he had this beautiful elevation and his long legs when he jumped. Annabel decided to invite cooper rust in to see joel dance. And immediately i sanoel. So i started home schooling him so he could both learn to read and learn to dance. Asjoels skills increased, cooper secured an audition for him at the English National Ballet School. She has pretty much changed a lot of lives. Shes a mum to a lot of people. Shes my best friend. Whilejoel trained, he spent most of the time with his ballet friends at coopers. These are home grown zucchinis . Yes. Coopers really amazing that she does all of that. I dont think ive met anyone else who can do such brilliance that she does. It really brings us together. Emotionally we talk about everything. And we just really understand each other. So lets get everything cleaned up tonight and teeth brushed and ready for bed and well make some plans. Cool . After dinner, cooper has some last minute notes forjoel. In the death pas de deux. More emotion. A lot more emotion. By putting your own worst nightmares into it. When youre acting it out you have to take it all the way. When youre in the moment its 0k and annabel wont mind. Itll help her. I think sometimes youre like what comes next, what comes next, what comes next its natural. But you have to think what comes next, what comes next, what comes next. Laughter. After a late night theresjust time to grab some breakfast. It feels surreal, because, first of all, i would never have imagined performing romeo and juliet here. Its something that never crossed my mind even as a role that i would ever get to perform. So im just thankful. I dont know. Its crazy. It is crazy. While the theatre technicians get across the lighting and stage cues, the company have a chance to get used to this space, including a renowned actorjohn sibi 0kumu playing lord montague. It is a wonderful story and i wanted to be on the same stage as joel. Because what he has achieved is phenomenal. To get where he is, and annabel, these are home grown superstars. At the Kenyan National theatre, the public arrive for the opening gala. The show must go on. Applause. Places for act one romeo juliet, dance of the knights. Over the next few nights, the nairobi audiences are in for a treat. People are freaking out, joel. They thought that this was the best show ever. But thats only cause they werent here for last night. Yeah, and they dont know when its not good or not. We can only pray. Romeo juliet, balcony scene. It was amazing to watch, honestly. Just spectacular. From the last time i saw him dance to now, his skill level has improved. Its just fascinating to watch. I thought it was amazing. I enjoyed every second. And it was such a pleasure to look at. The first night of the performance, Opening Night, my mum was there, my sister was there. And i didnt know that she was going to come onstage and give me flowers afterwards the performance, which was pretty cool, because i had never gotten a chance like that. So it was lovely for herjust to be on stage with me and give me flowers at the end of the performance in nairobi at the Kenyan National theatre and it was pretty cool. I enjoyed it. Back in london just a week later, the harsh reality of exams, assessments, and auditions is beginning to hit home. Today im doing a class with Alexander Whitley at the Wayne Mcgregor studios, because im graduating in three months time. Basically the students are auditioning for certain companies, ballet companies, contemporary companies. Considering this is the first time hes done class with us, i think a lot of it isjust being familiarenough with the kind of exercises to be able to learn them and do them quickly, you know. One, two, three, back. Hes got the willingness and the aptitude to try and take risks and explore new things. When were out there just doing our thing, youre happy, youre smiling, so i think no, i know that its going to be amazing. Whether he decides to do ballet or contemporary, one things for sure, joels dancing career will take off once this lockdown is over. But, for now, as with most of us, joel and his friends in kenya spend their time online taking classes and looking forward to the day they can take to the stage again. Joel, would you like to be our first guest teacher next week . Um, sure, yes, please. Actually, no, ive changed my mind, because theyve had you recently for romeo and juliet. All the boys. Ten push ups. Face your camera down. You ready . Ready . Laughter. And one and two. Oh, i miss this. I used to do this four, five, six. Seven, eight. Nine. Come on ten oh, no. You only get ten. Youre only getting ten. All right. Thats fine. Thats about nine. Hello. Winter is finally turning white for some of us. Not all of us going to see the snow over the next few days. The potential is still there for a bit more to come our way, though. Its certainly staying cold enough, but that frosty sharp frost at times overnight, icy conditions where were seeing some showers of rain, sleet, hail, yes, some snow, notjust on hills but at times to lower levels, with that risk of disruption. There are coming our way some fairly weak weather disturbances, but theyre within a flow ofaircoming down from the north, which means the moisture out of these disturbances will be falling as rain but also sleet and snow in places. And well have had a few wintry showers overnight, into first thing in the morning. Theres a sharp frost out there, maybe 9 in a few spots in scotland, icy conditions around and still some of these showers falling as snow, maybe notjust on hills, into the north, northwest of scotland, northern ireland. A few of these wintry showers running down towards north wales, north west england, the northwest midlands, and then we see an area of rain but turning to sleet and snow potentially for south wales, more especially running eastwards across parts of southern england during wednesday. Some uncertainty about how far north itll get, how much sleet and snow there will be within this. Itll be a cold day, yes, but much of the eastern side of the uk will stay dry and get to see a bit of sunshine. What rain, sleet and snow there is will continue to pull across parts of southern england overnight and into thursday morning before clearing. As thursday begins, were getting some of these snow showers pushing in towards eastern parts of scotland, and its those that are going to move further south during thursday, again giving the potential for some snow and ice in places, and notjust on hills, and the chance of some disruption as a result. So, this system will take its rain, sleet and snow showers out of scotland and into parts of england and wales as we go through thursday. The tendency for a lot of that to turn back to rain if you are seeing some snow away from hills during thursday, and where you dont get to see any rain, sleet and snow, quite a bit of cloud, maybe a few sunny spells, but itll be cold. That weather system still around overnight and into friday, new years day, the start of 2021. It will tend to die out during friday but still with a good deal of cloud, especially through england and wales, and patchy rain, sleet and hill snow out of that. And little less cold on friday, but temperatures staying below average well into the start of 2021. This is bbc news. A very warm welcome to our viewers in the uk, on pbs in america, and around the world. My names mike embley. 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