Company Members

Senior II

Alex Stow, 15, is in year 11 at Hillcrest Secondary School. Alex has been studying ballet with Cooper Rust since he was 3 years old. His passion is ballet, and he also takes hip hop and contemporary classes at DCK. Alex has danced in several performances with Dance Centre Kenya, including the part of the Rat King and the Lead Russian in the 2021 Nutcracker. Alex has also acted, sung, and danced on stage for the Karengata Amateur Dramatics Society (KADS). “

Laila Kazziha, 15, discovered her passion for dance when she started dancing with Dance Centre Kenya in 2016. In 2017, she spent four months training in Germany and now takes Advanced I ballet and hip hop. Her debut as a DCK Company Dancer was in A Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2019; in the 2021-22 season she danced the roles of a Rat and a Flower in the Nutcracker and the Wit Fairy in the 2022 Anniversary Gala.

Mitchelle Mulari, 15, is a 10th grade honor roll student at West Nairobi School, and has attended the South Carolina Summer Dance Intensive in Columbia, SC on scholarship. She was an Angel in the first DCK Nutcracker and enjoyed dancing the Maid, Flowers and Snow in the 2019 production, and a Rat Princess and Parasol in 2021. In addition to her classes at DCK, Mitchelle also teaches dance to underprivileged youth at Life Spring Children’s Home in Kibera.

Senior I

Viginia Karuirwa, 16, a year 10 student at St. Austins Academy. She likes netball, dancing, and listening to music. She started ballet six years ago and now takes Intermediate Ballet, as well as Gold Contemporary, Intermediate Pointe and Pas de Deux Ballet. In the 2021 Nutcracker, she danced the parts of a Party Girl, a Rat and a Flower. She also danced in the 2022 DCK production of Cinderella.

Pauline Okumu, 14, goes to St. Austins Academy. She has been dancing with DCK since 2017, seeing her passion grow as she advanced to the higher levels of ballet. She now takes Intermediate Ballet, Pointe, Pas de Deux and Gold Contemporary, and performed in both the 2021 Nutcracker and Cinderella in 2022. She enjoys swimming, dancing, singing and trying new things!

Vivian Atieno, 15, a year 10 student at La Fontana International School. She has been a DCK member for 6 years and was happy to join company in 2021. She is currently taking Gold Contemporary, Intermediate Pas de Deux, Ballet and Pointe, and performed in last season’s productions of The Nutcracker, Cinderella and the Anniversary Gala. This year she will be performing as a rat princess and a parasol in The Nutcracker. Apart from dancing she enjoys reading novels and swimming.

Charles Kamau started out dancing back in 2013 when he trained in African dance, hip-hop, contemporary and jazz, and performed around the country. Now a junior dance teacher at DCK, Charles has completed his Intermediate Foundation RAD exams and will be taking both Intermediate and Advanced Foundation Ballet this year. In the 2022 production of Cinderella he danced the part of the Spring Cavalier.

Company Members Senior I

Alvin Weru started dancing professionally in 2017, dancing Dancehall, Afrobeat and Hip-hop. In 2021, he started to train with Dance Centre Kenya, and now teaches Ballet, Hip-hop and African Dance, both at DCK and at external schools like Hillcrest, Banda and Stepping Stones. He danced the part of a Party Father in the 2021 Nutcracker, and was the Summer Cavalier in DCK’s 2022 Cinderella.

Eve Mwaniki, 16, is currently a Year 12 student at Braeside School. She is passionate about dance and especially ballet, having started her ballet training at the age of 9. She is now taking Advanced Ballet and is looking forward to being a professional ballerina! She is also passionate about animals and hopes to someday use dance to support rescued animals.

Marije van Binsbergen, 14, is in 9th grade at Rosslyn Academy. She has been dancing for 5 years with Dance Centre Kenya; currently she takes Intermediate Ballet, Pointe, Pas de Deux and Contemporary. This is her 2nd year in Company. She danced in The Nutcracker in 2019 and 2021, and Cinderella and the Anniversary Gala in 2022. Outside of ballet, she enjoys playing the piano and clarinet, swimming and baking.

Jana Landolt, 12, first started ballet at age 3. She takes dance classes every day, and also does gymnastics and musical theatre, as well as playing the piano and the guitar. This year Jana received a special award for promising young dancer at the Varna International Ballet Festival, and also came second place in Classical Dance and Contemporary Dance. She has danced in many different roles in DCK productions, including the role of Clara in last year’s Nutcracker.

Keri Yamane, 12, a Grade 7 student; she started dancing at the age of 3 and has been with Dance Centre Kenya since 2016. She has a strong passion for classical ballet and loves the tap class. In previous DCK Nutcrackers, she has danced the parts of Columbine, Russian Dancer and First Attendant to the Sugar Plum Fairy. This year, she danced the part of the Beauty Fairy in 7th Anniversary Gala, and Amour, Spirit of Love, in Cinderella.

Joy Gitonga, 17, has been dancing at DCK since 2016 and has performed in many of their shows, including A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet, and several Nutcrackers. She is currently in her senior year of high school and takes Advanced 1 ballet. Besides dancing she also enjoys playing sports.

Cheryl Lobo is 14 years old and in Grade 9 at NJA. She has been dancing with DCK since 2017. This year she has been given the chance to teach pre-primary ballet students. This year in Nutcracker she is going to be playing the roles of a party mother, snowflake and shepherdess. She has shown interest in darts and archery and wishes to pursue them further.

Juhi Nanji, 14, is a year 9 student at Peponi School and has been part of the DCK family for 8 years, taking Ballet, Pointe, Pas de Deux and Contemporary Dance classes. She has performed in numerous shows, including as Louisa in the 2021 Nutcracker and Ruby in Sleeping Beauty in 2022. In 2022, she gained a high merit in her RAD Intermediate Ballet examination. Aside from dancing, Juhi likes to draw, bake and play tennis.