Tip Toe - a short film directed by Ayan Abdi & Dina Al-Makhrami

Blurb: Tip Toe is a short performance film directed by Ayan Abdi and Dina Al-Makhrami, following the young ballerinas of Na Ponta dos Pés, an art school founded by Tuany Nascimento in Rio de Janeiro.

After stepping away from ballet professionally at just 18, Tuany returned to her community and continued to train. Her quiet persistence soon drew the attention of local children, and what began as informal ballet lessons on a football pitch evolved into something far greater. Through collective effort and community support, Tuany, alongside the girls and neighbours built Na Ponta dos Pés by hand on her mother’s plot of land.

Today, the school offers classes in ballet, photography, mixed media, and English, creating jobs and opportunities within the neighbourhood. The walls of the space are lined with handwritten letters from the girls, words of hope, dreams, and futures they imagined while building the school itself.

With Tip Toe, Abdi and Al-Makhrami sought to create an organic collaboration with Na Ponta dos Pés, one that captures how real change begins within a community, led by those who know it best. It is a reminder that safe spaces are not always built by institutions, but by people who choose to invest in others and hold space for growth, possibility, and joy.

Credits:

Directed by Ayan Abdi & Dina Al-Makhrami
Director of Photography @caiohumb
Ballet Instructor @tuany_nascimentoo
Production Assistants Ana Paula Ferreira & Ana Caroliny Tomaz AC @jeffreyschroederfanpage

Grade @rafaelsuarz
Edit & Sound @leopimentelll
Additional Editor @jorgenandre
Starring The Young Ballerinas of Na Ponta dos Pés Produced by Lo & Behold