Experience is not always a prerequisite of a person’s performance, as six couples from the Missionvale Care Centre’s ballroom dance group have proved, having been selected to compete in the interprovincial championship in Komani next weekend.
The newbies excelled at the regional dancing competition in Makhanda, with less than a year’s experience in ballroom dancing.
The youngsters were crowned winners in the junior section of the Sarah Baartman Third Leg Championships.
This was the first time they had participated in a dance competition since the group was formed.
Trained by ballroom dance instructor Sonwabile Makalo, 28, the group is made up of 20 members, aged 12 to 25, all introduced to the sport about 10 months ago.
Makalo introduced the dance form to the youngsters in late 2021, but the idea to form the group only materialised in about April, and with the dancers hailing from a financially challenged community, they were still struggling to put together attire for the interprovincial championship.
Last week, the centre held a fundraising event, but the turnout was poor.
Makalo said they had managed to raise R450 but needed about R30,000 for the boys’ attire, shoes for both genders and accommodation for one night for the 12 dancers.
“We tried our best but the turnout wasn’t what we had hoped for.
“We have all decided not to allow that to dampen our spirits and we still have hope that a way will be found,” he said.
Makalo, who also hails from the township, where ballroom dancing is not popular — especially among boys and young men — said he was also encouraged by his students’ commitment to learning.
“I started dancing at a young age but the only sport that was recognised in my family was rugby.
“They didn’t understand my interest in dance and I was actually forced to stop dancing,” he said.
He only returned to dance when he moved from his home in Qonce to Gqeberha, where he was introduced to a ballroom dancing club.
“It wasn’t until 2017 that I managed to get into a club that could actually train me and pay for everything including dance attire because I couldn’t afford anything.
“The only thing required of me was to just show up and dance,” he said.
Makalo represented PE College in competitions until the Covid-19 pandemic hit SA in 2020.
During the lockdown, he decided to spread his love for dancing by taking it to communities that were not well-informed about it.
His first stop was the Missionvale Care Centre’s Normoyle Primary School where he volunteered while studying at PE College.
He later became a facilitator for the centre’s youth development programme, which now includes dance lessons.
He meets the pupils daily after school and on Saturdays for practice.
One of the dancers heading to interprovincial championships, Iminathi James, said she was encouraged by her mother to join the dance group.
“My mother heard about it and told me to come to the centre and ask to join.
“I was getting involved with the wrong crowd where I stay and we often got accused of things we didn’t even do.
“Since I joined the dance classes, I no longer have time to hang out with them because I come here after school,” she said.
James stays in Rholihlahla in Missionvale and goes to Cebelihle Primary School.
“We managed to win in our first competition because bhuti [Makalo] trains us like we’re in a competition.
“He always says we must dance as if we’re in a competition and he plays the role of a judge,” she said.
HeraldLIVE
Would you like to comment on this article?
Sign up (it's quick and free) or sign in now.
Please read our Comment Policy before commenting.