In January of 2015 four families, the MacSweens, Plumbes, Dolan/Shaws, and Vaderas came together to establish a new school of dance in Nairobi. With very different backgrounds and professions these families quickly became unified under the prospect of bringing an international level of training to the children of Kenya. Professional American ballerina Cooper Rust was brought on board as Artistic Director, and so, Dance Centre Kenya was born.
Since then more than one hundred students have enrolled in DCK, where ballet, tap, jazz, modern, musical theatre and contemporary dance are offered for people of all ages.
From the beginning, there has been a commitment to reaching into the Kenyan community and finding talented students, irrespective of their ability to pay for this training. Although in its infancy, DCK’s sponsorship program is already affecting the lives of future dancers.
With a training program based on the Royal Academy of Dance Syllabus and annual examinations, DCK will provide aspiring dancers with more than technical training; our students will have multiple performance opportunities annually to express their artistic prowess and expose Kenya to what ballet and dance is all about.