Film director Jeremy Simmons made a documentary called Ghetto Ballet capturing the lives of four young ballet dancers living in one of the poorest towns on the outskirts of Cape Town, South Africa. One of the girls Sibahle Tshibika didn’t make the cut for the dance company. When the documentary aired in December 2009 on HBO, a US viewer named Rosemary Ringer was so touched by Tshibika’s story that she wrote to Atlanta Ballet in Georgia, asking them to bring Tshibika to the states. They agreed.
This summer, the young dancer flew to the US where the Atlanta Ballet gave her a second chance to believe. Tshibika will perform with the company before heading back to South Africa to finish school in the fall. The Atlanta Ballet has extended an invitation for Tshibika to continue her training upon graduation.
Tshibika’s story is one of beauty, passion, determination and hope. A lesson can be learned here.
“If you believe in something, you should stick on it and be sure that one day it’s going to happen — and if it didn’t, don’t just give up,” said Tshibika. “Just tell yourself you’re going to make it.”
Read the full story here.
Photo by Megyarsh via Flickr.