Working in the bar his parents own in the favela, Dyhan Cardoso squeezed in dance practice between cooking, waiting tables, making delivery runs and staffing the cash register
Brazilian dancer Dyhan Cardoso dances at the Aglomerado da Serra favela in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.
Image: Douglas Magno / AFP©
Growing up, Dyhan Cardoso had every reason to quit ballet: the only black boy in a class of white girls, the Brazilian favela kid faced mockery for dancing instead of playing football.
But there was no stopping his raw passion for dance, which has now landed the 19-year-old phenom a contract with one of the premiere US companies, Atlanta Ballet.
"I was always the only boy in class, the only black, the only poor kid," says the wiry dancer, taking a break from practicing his spectacular turns and leaps on the terrace of the brick shack where he lives with his parents and sister in Aglomerado da Serra, one of the largest slums in the southeastern city of Belo Horizonte.
"It was uncomfortable, but I didn't care," he tells AFP.
Cardoso started dancing at six years old, after his sister, Dayse, signed up for ballet classes run by a social project in the community.