LIMA, Peru — In Peru, ballet is largely inaccessible to the average family due to the high costs of attendance fees and equipment. As a result, it is mostly confined to small, privileged areas like Miraflores, and few have the chance to participate.
“We have to find a way to get money for trips, for competitions, for ballet exams, for clothes, for shoes,” said Maricarmen Silva, a former professional dancer with two of Peru’s top ballet companies and current teacher at El Maricarmen de Ballet. “Everything in ballet is expensive.”
Maricarmen uses her extensive ballet experience to run a nonprofit ballet school that offers free classes to underprivileged youth. Many of her students come from some of the poorest neighborhoods in Peru, but through ballet, they have received scholarships and opportunities to train abroad.
Although ballet is what she teaches, Maricarmen emphasizes that it’s about more than just dance; it’s about instilling important values and helping her students dream bigger.
“It changed many things about me, such as responsibility, courage, and discipline,” said Ashley Távara, one of Maricarmen’s current students. “Ballet teaches you so much more than just values—it shapes you as a person.”