Inspired by music

Kyalami resident Courtnae Paul shared how her passion for breakdancing inspired her to pursue a career in music.

“After starting gymnastics around six or seven, I later figured I always had that flexible gymnastic-type ability. Something happened just as I was watching music videos with guys doing backflips and windmills, and I kind of just copied whatever I could,” she said.

“At 11, I started dancing at church… I kind of realised it was something that I liked which I was not bad at. Fast-forward a few years later, I got my first choreographer gig at 15 years old and I have never looked back since.”

Paul, who is a Durban native, added that when she was 21 years old, she moved to Johannesburg where she was able to pursue her love for dancing.

“Once I moved to Joburg, I realised breakdancing was actually a fully fledged dance style. I put my head down and I did the work. Just recently I won the Redbull BC One Cypher B-Girl 2021 competition which took place on 24 April. It’s the biggest breaking competition in the world and I think there are a lot of cool things that have come from it.”

Paul also spoke about her career as a DJ and choreographer. She said her love for dancing stemmed from music and she had a very eclectic taste in music but her current focus as a DJ was hip-hop.

“I do have those moments when I really do not want to do it [dance] because I’m tired, as it is extremely taxing on the body, but at the end of the day, it is just a very big part of my life so it is difficult to hang those shoes up.”

Paul said she was currently filming an online festival, Inspired Live, with other South African artists. She added she would also release a song together with Da Les titled Ooh Wee in the coming weeks.