Local dancer to take a bite of the Big Apple
According to her mother Denise Delpaul, Hannah was born to dance.
MBOMBELA – At first glance, Hannah Delpaul (11) appears shy and reticent. It is only when you see her on-stage accomplishments that it becomes clear that she is a remarkably talented dancer. The grade six Laerskool Nelspruit learner has been gathering accolades year after year and, according to her mother Denise, she was born to dance.
“Hannah started doing ballet when she was two years old and five years later moved into the modern dance sphere. At eight years old, she received her South African colours for the first time.”
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The accomplished ballerina has travelled as far as Croatia, where she swept aside the competition and achieved first place. She has also graced our television stations and appeared on SABC Prime Time News. Besides ballet, Hannah has added modern and jazz dancing to her repertoire.
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Not content with all the accolades under her belt, Hannah has received her Mpumalanga Provincial Federation and South African colours and will represent South Africa at the Talent America competition to be held in New York in June. She is fresh from competing in Roodepoort at the national championships, held on March 29, after holding her own at the provincial regional championships in White River at the end of last year and placing second overall.
The laurels she has won include a gold medal apiece for modern and lyrical dance as well as a silver medal in classical ballet. Added to this is a further silver in modern dance and a bronze for her tap dancing. Hannah’s tight schedule means that the dance floor is her second home and she aspires to be an instructor at the Royal Academy of Dance in London.
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“I get butterflies in my stomach before each routine, but I see the performance in my mind’s eye which helps calm me,” she said.
“I love ballet because it is the first dance style I started with and it needs a lot of concentration. I have found that, if you maintain the basics and add to your repertoire each year, your abilities improve.”
Hannah enjoys the intricate footwork required by tap dance. For her it is an enjoyable style to watch because of the high energy. She enjoys the support of her mother Denise and her instructor from Feel the Beat Dance Studio, Sonelka Loxton.
Denise added that Hannah is constantly dancing and the family have built a 7×7 metre dance studio in their home so she is able to live out her passion. With her brother Matthew and her close-knit family backing her, Hannah’s success on the world’s dance stage is almost certainly guaranteed.
