Hmmm this looks like it could be interesting, will I ever get to see it though, that's the question.
It premieres this Wednesday on HBO, because I know there are so many Americans following this blog who really want to know :)On the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa lies the township of Kyahalitscha, a teeming mass of makeshift dwellings occupied by one of the poorest black populations in the country. In the midst of the rampant poverty that surrounds them, a handful of teenagers are pinning their hopes for a better future on an unlikely extracurricular program called Dance for All. Located in a Cape Town, a bus ride away from Kyahalitscha, Dance for All was founded in 1991 by a white ballet dancer and teacher named Philip Boyd, who wanted to bring change to the segregated ballet culture in the country, an outgrowth of the then-apartheid government. Today, Boyd and his staff teach some 1,000 girls and boys from disadvantaged backgrounds the fine art of dance: classical, modern and traditional.
Once a year, Dance for All holds auditions for dancers who display unusual talent and promise. Based on their performances, a few will be offered the chance to join the professional arm of the organization, the Youth Company. "It's a way out, a chance in life," notes Boyd. "It's a lifeline for a better future." Ghetto Ballet follows the progress of several Dance for All students - at home, at the studio, at leisure and in performance - as they set their sights on an annual audition that could lead them out of the ghetto, and into a high- profile career as a professional dancer. Among those we meet over the course of six months:
[via World Of Wonder]
