Benoni tap dancers Madeline and Luke Scrase represented South Africa with pride at the recent International Dance Organisation (IDO) World Tap Dance Championships in Prague, Czechia.

The competition, which attracted 1 700 dancers from 21 countries, was held at the Unyp Arena from October 22 to 25.

The Scrase siblings, together with Madison Versveld from Kempton Park, flew the country’s flag high, returning home with two bronze medals and a silver.

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Madeline, a multiple finalist in the competition, having won silver in 2022 and bronze in 2023, secured a bronze medal in the adult female solo category, out of 45 dancers, becoming the second vice-world champion.

Versveld and Luke took silver and bronze in the adult male category to be crowned the vice and second vice world champions. This was the first time South Africa had two tap dancers make a solo final and finish on the podium.

Furthermore, Madeline and Luke finished sixth in the adult duo category. It was the first time in 14 years that SA had a duo in the finals of the competition.

Versveld concluded a remarkable competition by clinching the battle of the feet contest. This is a freestyle dance-off where the judges give the dancers a tempo, and they are required to improvise in front of a live audience.

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