Stroke of luck - 25th October 2023

A 19 year old from the slums of Belo Horizonte in Brazil, Dyhan Cardoso, has been signed to dance with one of the premiere US Ballet companies - Atlanta Ballet. Cardoso’s dance journey began at age 6 whilst attending a social project in his community. Tagging along to watch his sister who was doing classical ballet, he felt moved to join the classes. The teacher was reluctant to let him join in as he was the only boy as his mother Heloisa Helena recounts.

Heloisa Helena: "The teacher, you know, didn't really accept it because he was the only boy at school – at the ballet school. And, you know, let’s try. We decided to try. I felt like he really wanted it. And then, from his first day in the social project – he was about five to six years old – he hasn't stopped since."

Even though he was teased by other kids in the neighbourhood for not playing football, nothing was going to stop him from dancing. A lucky meeting with a customer at the restaurant, where his mother was a cook, led to Cardoso getting an audition at a dance academy on the wealthier side of the city. He won not only a place but a scholarship to attend, becoming the only black boy in a class of white girls and the odd one out both at home and at school.

Dyhan Cardoso: "At the beginning there was the issue of friends making fun. But as I was raised well, I responded and made fun of them back. So it didn't affect me, you know? I think we can't let it affect us. If it's what you want, if it's your dream, you need to go after it and achieve it, you know? Which is also a form of response."

And for Cardoso those dreams are about to become reality, as next month he will travel to the US to join the ranks of Atlanta Ballet, the oldest continually performing ballet in the US. Once more he had aced the audition and was lavished with praise by the company’s artistic director.

For his teacher in Brazil, Dadyer Aguilera, this comes as no surprise.

Dadyer Aguilera: "A privileged physique, he has a privileged foot. He has above average technical conditions. He can do very difficult steps with extraordinary quality and very refined aesthetic beauty."