Making dancing her life

“It is a beautiful thing when a career and a passion come together.” An apt description of Umdloti professional dancer and teacher Angela Smith (25) who from the age of four did not want to do anything else but dance. Instead of following the herd after school and going off to study toward a degree to become a lawyer or doctor Smith focused on making dance her life. She now runs her own dance school, which she runs from Glen Ashley Prep in Durban North and has performed as a soloist in five of Break-Thru Dance Company’s seasons. At the age of 13 the classically trained Cecchetti ballet dancer decided to take her dancing more seriously. “I always knew I was destined to teach. I remember teaching my friends ballet to Beyonce in my lounge when I was 13. I love children and I love the technical side of dancing and teaching. It is so rewarding when it clicks in their minds and you suddenly see a breakthrough. “I initially wanted to dance overseas or to dance professionally in Durban but it was hard because at the time there were no dance companies. Straight after school I worked towards becoming a teacher. It was intense but nothing else interested me.” She started out teaching ballet at 12 different schools a week from Umhlanga to Amanzintoti. As a pure ballet dancer, dancing for fusion dance company Break-Thru Dance Company challenged her to adapt to other styles of dance such as contemporary, jazz and cabaret. “I had never been exposed to anything else but it forced me to grow into a more versatile dancer.” She now teaches Cecchetti, Adult Ballet, hip hop and strength and stretch classes and will host her first end of year show this year. Smith has performed as a soloist in ‘Dollz’ at Suncoast , ‘Neo-Burlesque’ and ‘Syzygy’ at the Sibaya Izulu Theatre and has even performed for current South African president and the Prince of Monaco at the Playhouse. “It is hard to describe the feeling when you perform. You are so scared before but then everything is silent and you do not really think. You are in your own world and everything stands still. It is a natural high. It is just power, passion and intensity all in one spot. So empowering.” To contact Angela School of Dance email Angela on angelas.schoolofdance@gmail.com.