Talented dancer earns championship status
He is already dancing a minimum of nine hours a week and is very dedicated and hardworking.
A Gamalakhe father, Dumi Ngidi says he couldn’t have made a better decision than to enrol his son Sizolwethu for dance classes.
A Grade 5 learner at Port Shepstone Senior Primary, Sizolwethu has outdone himself as he was recently crowned the 2023 South African Dance Teachers Association’s (Sadta) South African dance champion, after achieving his Sadta colours at a provincial competition held in the Free State, as part of the KZN inter-provincial team.
“Sizolwethu started dancing last year after he showed talent in gymnastics. He started doing flips and stretches at home and it made me realise that he has a gift, “said Ngidi.
He said the 11-year-old began competing as a non-registered dancer, as part of the In Motion Dance Academy team while he was waiting to be registered with Sadta.
“His first competition was in Durban where he achieved first place in freestyle, disco and slow dance. His second competition was in Illovo Beach where did extremely well and started collecting his Sadta points. He was able to get enough points qualifying him for his championship status,” Ngidi explained.
He said Sizolwethu’s first time performing out of the province was in Johannesburg, and hopefully he will be going overseas to perform as an SA champion next year.
Ngidi said he is proud of Sizolwethu as he is also achieving great results academically. “He is a very disciplined child and has a vision. He wants to do well in all he attempts,” he said.
He said some of the challenges since Sizolwethu started dancing and competing have been financial, however they have managed with the assistance of family members, donations and the dance studio.
“The cost to go to a competition is not cheap, hence we decided to open a BackaBuddy fundraising account for his trip overseas next year. When we travelled to Johannesburg our BackaBuddy donors supported us. We are hoping that we will get the same response when we go overseas. Besides the travel costs, outfits and make-up also cost alot as the dancers have to look sparkly and glamorous when competing. As his parents, we will do our best to ensure that Sizolwethu goes far in his dancing career, and one day gets to perform at the Olympics.
Dance coach, Talita Helberg said Sizolwethu has only been with the studio for 18 months and in that time he has made it through the ranks as a beginner to achieving championship status.
“He has taken the dance world by storm and is an exceptionally talented and versatile dancer. At his young age, he is already dancing a minimum of nine hours a week and is very dedicated and hardworking. He leaves nothing to chance but works on every little detail in his aim to achieve perfection. He is extremely humble and an absolute pleasure to work with. We are hoping that he will be selected for the South African team that will be dancing in Blackpool, United Kingdom and the Czech Republic next year, and that he gets his Protea colours which is still to be confirmed in January.” Helberg added.
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