Five dancers from an Edenglen dance studio recently had the honour of participating and representing South Africa at an International Dance Competition in Austria.
Of the 37 countries which competed, three South African Dance Studios took part. One of which was the Edenglen-based Ke Zone Dance and Fitness group.
Owner of the dance studio Ms Kerryn Stow said it was an amazing privilege for her and her team to represent South Africa in the competition.
She said her dance studio entered two categories, namely the Adults 2 Hip Hop Small Dance Section for over 31s and the Adults 1 Break Dance Solo Male Sections for participants between 16 and 31.
“This has been a five-year goal for my dance team and I. I wanted to be chosen to represent South Africa, using my dancers from Ke Zone,” said Ms Stow.
The other dancers included Lara Clark, Megan Ahmed, Hencia Garratt, Earl Orange and Zain Norton.
Ms Stow said the team’s hard work and determination paid off.
At the tournament the team managed to reach the semi-finals before being eliminated, despite one team member injuring herself and having an arm in a sling.
“We are so thrilled with our achievement. It felt so amazing to be part of such an incredible event,” said Ms Stow.
Ms Stow said wearing the South African tracksuit and representing South Africa felt incredible.
“We all put in so much time and dedication into the small group. To be able to dance at an international competition was incredible,” said Ms Stow.
In order to be selected to participate in this event, Ms Stow said dance teams needed to have competed at two or more South African Body Of Dance (SABOD) competitions in the World Trial Circuit (WTC) dance section and place in the top three at a minimum of two competitions.
“Teams also need to be allocated the right amount of points to qualify for the international section of the competition,” said Ms Stow.
She said dance team ‘Tenacious’ danced at a number of these competitions over the past five years.
Three members of the studio, including Ms Stow, received their South African Colours for Contemporary Dance through Dance Masters South Africa.
She said herself, Lara Clark and Hencia Garratt will represent South Africa in Barcelona, Spain, in July 2017 at another international dance competition. “We are so over the moon that all these achievements keep coming our way. We have all worked so hard,” said Ms Stow. She said the dancers from the dance studio will keep on working hard until they achieve a podium position. Ms Stow said the teams would like to thank everyone who made it possible for the team to get overseas.