🔅 Leap of Dance Academy: A Story of Ballet in Nigeria
Plus: Nigeria Attack on US Convoy, Zanzibar’s Going Fully Solar, South Africa Saves Face with US, And much more...
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Unpaid Bill: Text Messages Cut Off in Nigeria | The power struggle between Nigerian banks and the country’s top mobile phone operators has reached a boiling point: MTN Group and Airtel Africa are cutting off text message services to banks until they pay $259 million in arrears. The service, which is used for financial transactions, is essential for the country’s poor households.
*Data accurate as of the close of markets across the continent
CULTURE
Leap of Dance Academy: A Story of Ballet in Nigeria
It all started with a video of 11-year-old Anthony Mmesoma Madu dancing in a rain-soaked courtyard.
The clip went viral, and brought global attention to the Leap of Dance Academy, located in a suburb of Lagos, Nigeria.
Established in 2017, the school was founded by Daniel Ajala with the mission to offer free ballet instruction to those who want to pursue it as a profession.
It hasn’t been the easiest journey – ballet isn't widely practised in Nigeria, so Ajala had to learn from YouTube – but the Academy has already helped secure scholarships and performance opportunities for many involved.
And now, there's a documentary about it:
The new documentary, “Then Comes The Body,” was created by Jacob Krupnick of Wild Combination, and is partly narrated by Ajala. The film shares the students' stories as individual artists and highlights the power of the academy and its impact on the community.
It shows the dancers atop yellow vans, moving in the streets, and teaching each other, and offers insight into the immense impact the academy has had, both on individual students and on the school as a whole.
The filmmaker, Krupnick, says the documentary is a testament to the power of expression and community building.
Where can you watch it?
The film will be premiering at Tribeca Film Festival this June, and will surely be worth the wait.
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OTHER HEADLINES
Across the Continent
🇳🇬 Nigeria: Attack on US Convoy | Gunmen attacked a US convoy on Tuesday, killing four people, two of whom were US consulate employees. The attackers also set the vehicle on fire and kidnapped three other people. The US state department has confirmed the incident, and Nigerian police are conducting a rescue and recovery operation. This attack is a stark reminder of the violence and separatist insurgency plaguing the region. It's thought that the attack was carried out by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) movement, though they haven't yet made a public comment.
🇹🇿 Zanzibar’s Going Solar: All-Power to the Archipelago | Zanzibar is taking a major step to becoming energy-independent. The semi-autonomous archipelago is planning to build its first large-scale solar power plant—which will cost a cool $140 million. Taifa Energy and Mauritian-based Generation Capital are the lucky companies who have been tapped to construct the 180-megawatt plant, starting with a 30-megawatt facility that’s set to be finished by next year. This is great news for Zanzibar, which currently relies on a 100-megawatt submarine cable from mainland Tanzania for electricity.
🇿🇦 South Africa Saves Face with US | South Africa has managed to avoid a diplomatic face-off with the US after its Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana quashed rumors that Pretoria had supplied weapons to Russia. This whole mess started when the US Ambassador accused South Africa of selling weapons to Russia, causing the rand to take a plunge. The South African government, who won't speak up about the Russian invasion of Ukraine, was also quick to deny reports of military cooperation talks with Moscow. President Cyril Ramaphosa has offered up a peace initiative, with African heads of state set to travel to both Kyiv and Moscow to try and bring an end to the war. It looks like South Africa will be able to avoid any repercussions for its diplomatic tightrope walking.
FOOD FOR THOUGHT
Proverb of the Day
“A doctor who invoked a storm on his people cannot prevent his own house from destruction.”
— Nigerian Proverb.