Blake and Logan van der Merwe, widely known in the dance fraternity as the Van Brothers, recently became world champions after representing SA in the Freestyle World Championships.
This event, held in Blackpool, England, at the end of June, saw the youngsters share the stage with the best in the world.
To be selected for the SA dance team, dancers must meet the qualifying criteria. With hopeful hearts, the excited brothers went abroad and won the world title for their U12 freestyle pairs.
Their mother, Sharon, said they were proud of the duo.
“Dancing runs in their blood because they come from a family of professional dancers and trainers. Their granny, uncle, aunt, mom and dad did professional dancing. Their uncle, Craig Riviere, who has trained previous world winners before, trained them,” she explained.
Blake (11) and Logan (nine) started dancing when they were five. They began participating in group classes, then stage shows and then competitions. They are part of the Dance Illusions Studio in Bedfordview.
They were into sport and fitness, and as they participated in competitions, their passion evolved, and dancing is now their biggest sport.
“The boys train three to four times a week, with additional practice and tumbling lessons weekly, tool. Freestyle dance is a rigorous form of dance, which requires strength, flexibility, technical training and difficult choreography,” she explained.
Returning to SA with a world title was a proud moment for the parents, which made the sacrifices worthwhile. Both parents work full-time.
“We fetch the boys and rush them to dance lessons, eating on the go and planning family gatherings around their busy dance calendar. The boys’ achievements have come from many hours of hard training, grit to keep trying when things felt difficult and maturity to develop as a couple even with occasional disagreements,” Sharon said.
With the adage, “You are only as good as your last performance”, the parents hope the boys can keep up the hard work and inspire other dancers to set their sights on massive goals.
Young Logan said, “We prepared by practice, practice and more practice. I want everyone to know that no matter how small, they must never give up, and if they fall, they should get back up and never give up.”
Their father, Riaan, said the boys have never danced for the results but focus on having fun and sharpening the craft.
“We hope that with this result, more boys will join the dancing sport. The boys want to be proud ambassadors for boys and men, not only in SA but globally, advocating that dance is an amazing sport, and boys can also do it,” he said.
