West dance school seeks funds to perform on international stage
"The travelling costs are very high so most of the children might not go."
A dance school in Pretoria West hopes to make its mark on the international stage in Ireland in July.
Ezinhle School of Dance based at the Quagga Shopping Centre will represent South Africa at World Lyrical Dance Federation in Dublin, Ireland.
Founder Zinhle Dambazi said the biggest challenge now was to finance the trip to Ireland for the students whose parents cannot afford it.
“The travelling costs are very high and most of the children might not even be able to go. We are hoping for sponsors to come through for us. There are really those parents who cannot afford it, they are just depending on the sponsors.”
Dambazi said they are fast approaching their departure date however only a few children will manage to go as things stand.
“We are leaving in July. Currently, we are sending applications… We are just hoping for the best.”
She said if they do not manage to get the required funds, the children whose parents cannot afford the trip, will have to stay behind.
“This will be very sad for the children because they have been working very hard. This is very discouraging to them. There are 42 students and only half of the parents can afford the trip.
“We want all of them to go. The flight is R14 700 and accommodation is R19 500. Four children will share one accommodation. We will have to divide the R19 500 by four, which then makes it R4 875. We are going to be there for eight days.”
Dambazi said they would really appreciate it if people donated to them so that all the children can have this experience.
“The children have been practising the whole year as they qualified last year.
“Also the kind of dances that we are doing are group routines, so you find that if a certain number is not going in a group, it messes up the whole group.
“This is a very good opportunity for them and it does not always happen. Once a child does qualify, it really means a lot to them. We would really appreciate any kind of support,” Dambazi said.
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