Dancers excel at South African Championships

International Solo Dance Sport held its South African Championships online at the end of last year.

The national championship had over 200 entries in various styles and ages and Rhythm Image Dance Studio’s students were among these entrants.  They excelled once again this year, said Tanya Edwards-Smith, the owner of the studio.

The online event took place over six weeks said Edwards-Smith. The dancers sent in two videos per week of various genres.  They were scored in a different manner to a live competition as online event performances are completely different. They were scored across an association standard instead of against others in the section. This kept the winners’ standard high. They were scored by local and international adjudicators.

“Competing online is much harder than competing at a live event in many ways. Live you have an audience to cheer you on, giving you adrenaline and encouragement; online you are usually alone in the lounge or garage.

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“Space online was limited. Some participants managed to film their videos at their dance studio while others made use of their homes; some even the garden! This, in turn, made movement harder as the floor was not a perfect dance floor.”

“General motivation during lockdown was low, the fact these dancers kept their skills sharp during this time was an achievement in itself.”

The competition results were as follows:

Febe Gartner won three South African titles in the youth categories of solo energy, solo Latin and solo classic. In solo energy, consisting of move, bhangra, slow style and hip-hop, she won all styles except move. In solo Latin, consisting of cha-cha, samba, paso doble and jive, she won all four styles. In solo classic, consisting of contemporary, cool jazz, ballet and Spanish, she won all four styles.

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Tenei Stander won two South African titles in the junior category of solo energy and solo classic. In solo energy, consisting of move, bhangra, slow style and hip-hop she won all styles except move. Solo classic, consisting of contemporary, cool jazz, ballet and Spanish, she won contemporary and ballet. She placed in silver position in solo Latin and won paso doble and jive.

Xandely Steyn won two silver and one bronze medal in the junior category. She received a silver in solo energy and solo classic, and won cool jazz and Spanish. She placed third in solo Latin and won cha-cha.

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Remofilwe Leeuw won a bronze medal in the junior category of solo classic and placed fourth in solo Latin.

Edwards-Smith said these new five South African titles brings Rhythm Image Dance Studios South African title list up to 65 in 21 years in solo and teams.

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