Anthony Mmesoma Madu, an 11-year-old boy from Nigeria, has won the opportunity of a lifetime thanks to his undying passion for dance. The talented youngster made rounds on social media after a video of him showing off his impressive ballet skills barefoot—seemingly undeterred by the rain pouring down on him—touched hearts across the globe. Since being uploaded to Instagram in June 2020, the video was watched more than 330,000 times and shared across social media platforms. It eventually reached the eyes of Cynthia Harvey, the artistic director of the ABT Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis School of Dance in New York, who was quite impressed by the young dancer.
“A friend who lives in the UK sent me the video,” Harvey told the Cincinnati Enquirer. “Within a day, I was trying to find him.” She managed to track down Anthony and his teacher, Daniel Ajala, within two days and soon after, arranged for full scholarships so the budding ballet dancer could attend the three-week intensive program, ABT virtual Young Dancer Summer Workshop. ABT also included Ajala in its National Training Curriculum, a two-week course intended to help teachers polish their skills.
Explaining why she was so moved by Anthony’s video, Harvey—who is a former principal dancer with American Ballet Theatre—explained: “Here, we’re complaining about not being able to open our buildings. But in that video, I saw a boy who was a perfect example of the tenacity someone can have when they have love and a dream. It was immediately obvious how much determination he had.” According to The Washington Post, the ABT scholarship isn’t the only opportunity to have come searching for Anthony since the video took off online. The youngster is set to train in the United States on a scholarship from Ballet Beyond Borders next year.
