The video
The clip was short and unadorned: a Nigerian boy turning through ballet steps in the rain, on wet ground, in Lagos. It circulated in the summer of 2020, at a moment when the internet had an unusual appetite for something unguarded, and within days it had been shared by dancers and companies far outside Nigeria.
Anthony Madu was about 11, from Ajangbadi in Lagos State. The attention translated into something concrete rather than fleeting: a scholarship to Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham, one of Britain's vocational ballet schools, which trains dancers from the age of eleven.
Birmingham
Moving from Lagos to a residential ballet school in the English Midlands is not a soft landing. Vocational training at that level means daily class, a boarding routine, and academic school alongside it, in a country he had not lived in and a discipline whose technical vocabulary is unforgiving.
Elmhurst has kept him publicly on its books since, announcing in February 2024 that one of its students was the subject of a Disney original feature documentary. That announcement is the school's own confirmation that he was still training there.
'Madu' on Disney+
The documentary, titled simply 'Madu', was directed by Matthew Ogens and Joel Kachi Benson and released on Disney+ on 29 March 2024. The Hollywood Reporter previewed the trailer that February, describing it as the story of the viral Nigerian ballet student. The Guardian of Nigeria called it groundbreaking; Premium Times covered the Lagos screening in July 2024, when the film came home.
Pairing a Nigerian and an American director gave the film two vantage points at once: the household in Lagos and the boarding school in Birmingham. That structure is what lifted it out of the uplift genre its subject matter invited.
The Emmy, and where Anthony Madu is now
In June 2025 Channels Television reported that Joel Kachi Benson had won an Emmy for the Disney documentary. It is a rare recognition for a Nigerian documentary, and it turned a viral clip into an award-winning piece of film-making five years after the fact.
As of the most recent reporting used here, Madu is a student at Elmhurst Ballet School. No source used here reports a company contract, a graduation date or a professional debut, and none is assumed. He was born in 2008, which makes him a teenager still in training.
Why the story has held
Viral videos of talented children usually produce a week of attention and nothing else. What separates this one is that a functioning institution was on the other end of it: a vocational school with a scholarship to offer, an audition process to run and a training programme lasting years.
Classical ballet has also had a long and uncomfortable problem with who appears on its stages. A Nigerian boy from Ajangbadi entering British vocational training, and then having that passage filmed and released on a global streaming service, is not only a personal story. It is a data point in an argument the art form has been having with itself for decades, which is why dancers and companies amplified the original clip so quickly, and why the film that followed found an audience well beyond Nigeria and Britain.
Watch: Anthony Madu on camera
| Person | Country | Milestone | Age / Stat |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ferdinand Maumo | Nigeria | Winning a chess tournament with a perfect score about a month after… | Age 10 |
| Deborah Quickpen | Nigeria | Nigerian women's national chess champion at 11 (2023) | Age 11 |
| Emmanuella Mayaki | Nigeria | Founding the CodeKid IT academy in Abuja at 11 and gaining a US… | Age 11 |
| Anthony Madu | Nigeria | The 2020 video of him dancing ballet in the rain in Lagos | Age 12 |
| Faith Odunsi | Nigeria | Winning the Global Open Mathematics Tournament at 15 | Age 15 |
What is documented — and what is not
✓ Documented
- The 2020 viral video of him dancing ballet in the rain in Lagos led to an Elmhurst Ballet School scholarship
- 'Madu' was released on Disney+ on 29 March 2024, directed by Matthew Ogens and Joel Kachi Benson
- The documentary won an Emmy, reported June 2025 (Channels Television)
? Unverified, disputed or wrong
- No source gives his exact birth date or current school year
- No professional ballet contract or graduation is documented
- Family detail beyond what the film shows is not published here
Questions people ask about Anthony Madu
How old is Anthony Madu?
He was born in 2008, which made him about 11 when the video was filmed in 2020. No source publishes his exact birth date.
What was the Anthony Madu video?
A short 2020 clip of him dancing ballet in the rain on a street in Lagos. It spread worldwide and led to a scholarship offer from Elmhurst Ballet School in England.
Where does Anthony Madu study ballet?
Elmhurst Ballet School in Birmingham, England, one of Britain's vocational ballet schools, which confirmed in 2024 that he was one of its students.
What is the film 'Madu' about?
It is a Disney+ feature documentary about his move from Lagos to Elmhurst, directed by Matthew Ogens and Joel Kachi Benson and released on 29 March 2024.
Did 'Madu' win an Emmy?
Yes. Channels Television reported in June 2025 that Joel Kachi Benson had won an Emmy for the documentary.
Where is Anthony Madu now?
The most recent reporting used here has him training at Elmhurst Ballet School. No professional contract or graduation is documented in these sources.
Is Anthony Madu on Wikipedia?
He does not have a standalone Wikipedia article, though the film 'Madu' is documented there. His record rests on Nigerian, British and American news coverage.
Who are Anthony Madu's parents?
The documentary features his family in Lagos, but the sources used here publish little detail about them, and none is added.
Quick quiz: how well do you know Anthony’s story?
What made Anthony Madu famous in 2020?
Which school gave him a scholarship?
What happened to the documentary 'Madu' in 2025?
Sources
- Groundbreaking documentary 'Madu' chronicles inspiring journey of Nigerian dancer Anthony Madu — The Guardian Nigeria, 2024-02-04
- Documentary on Nigerian boy in viral 2020 ballet video screened in Lagos — Premium Times, 2024-07-27
- 'Madu' Trailer From Disney+ Teases Story of Viral Nigerian Ballet Student — The Hollywood Reporter, 2024-02-01
- Elmhurst Ballet School student Anthony Madu stars in Disney Original feature-length documentary film — Elmhurst Ballet School, 2024-02-15
- Kachi Benson Wins Emmy For Disney Documentary 'Madu' — Channels Television, 2025-06-28
Checked by the Geniuses.club editorial team. Ages are given as of September 2026.
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