Para-dancers head overseas to compete
Dancers Kallie Adams and Jessica Holtzhousen are headed for the Netherlands to compete in The Amstelveen 2025 Para-Dance Sport International Competition, taking their hopes and dreams with them.
The Amstelveen 2025 Para-Dance Sport International Competition dance floor awaits dancers Kallie Adams and Jessica Holtzhousen, who plan to proudly display their talents for the world to see while in the Netherlands. They left on April 15, and as they flew through a starry autumn Johannesburg sky, heading towards the spring skies that await in the Netherlands, the dancers’ great ambition is to make themselves proud, as they fly the South African flag doing what they love the most.
Read more: Para dancers look to take on the world at Amstelveen 2025 Para Dance Sport International Competition
The competition, which takes place from April 18 to 21, is an event the pair only dreamed possible. So, when they received their SA Colours blazers, a few days before their flight to Europe, it was important to mark it with a special celebration, which was held at Newlands-based, Danie Van Zyl Recreation Centre, and the intimate event packed a big punch for them.
Also read: Celebrating the life of an inspiring para-rower
Adams’ time on the dance floor spans over three decades, and he has waited 28 years to be eligible for his National Colours, having danced with 15 different abled-bodied dance partners with no success. To him, being able to wear this blazer means his hard work and perseverance is coming to fruition. “Loyalty to your craft pays off, despite obstacles. As well as being patient and continuing to push through.”
For Holtzhousen, being able to travel across the world to take part in a sport she loves so much, is everything she ever dreamt of, with her excitement being both incomprehensible and humbling. This talented para-ballroom dancer has caudal regression syndrome, which caused her to be paralysed from the waist down. She also has a cleft palate, which required several operations, and fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, all of which required her to spend far too much of her early years on the operating table.
The pair is filled with gratitude for the community that has helped make this dream possible for them. “We would like to thank everyone that stood with us. Our message to them is to not give up, and to not sit back waiting for life to happen.”
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