A small group of Nigerian girls and boys wearing leotards and leggings limber up in a spare room at a run-down primary school with patches of damp on the walls. They launch into pirouettes and arabesques but have to make do without music. Today, the stereo is not working, because there is no electricity.

This is Leap of Dance Academy — a ballet school in a poor district of sprawling megacity Lagos that aims to bring classical dance to underprivileged children in Africa’s most populous nation.

The school is the brainchild of self-taught ballet aficionado Daniel Ajala, who opened its doors in late 2017 after studying the dance moves online and in books. The lessons are free and shoes and kit provided to the children, most of whom had never heard of ballet before they got involved.

“In this area, I know we can’t actually afford the luxury of ballet, or dance education — so I think it’s a beautiful art to introduce to our people here.” He says locals in the neighbourhood of Ajangbadi were sceptical at first about his plan to teach ballet.

“We want to make sure to show them that this is not a bad dance — ballet is a much disciplined, forward dance that is very important in the growth of a child.”

Now after several years of training and effort the dancers have gained more acceptance. And when they practice their moves outside around the area they now draw admiring — if sometimes still confused — glances.