Ballroom duo seeks help to make dance dreams come true
The dream of a local dance couple of representing the country in an international competition hangs in the balance due to lack of funds.
DANCE couple Nkululeko Khumalo and Lezariah Blignaut are appealing for sponsorship to help them get to an international competition
The hopes of Ballroom and Latin America dancing partners, Khumalo, an engineering students at Umbilo EFT College and Blignaut, an IT student from Rosebank College, are relying on the generosity of the local community to make their dream of representing South Africa come true. The dancing duo have excelled at provincials as well as at national dance competitions,and this year alone they won two
major national dance contests, the Arnold Classique Challange which was held at the Sandton Convention Centre in May and the Gold Cup Classique Championships in Durban on 10 June.
Winning the Arnold Classic in Johannesburg made them firm contenders to be the official SA Dance Sport Ambassadors as they shot straight to the top of the log ladder. Now, they are in need of funds to compete in The Rumba in the Jungle International Competition to be held at Sun City, North West in August. The lack of funds might rob these students of the chance to represent their country at this international competition.
Their ballroom coach, Rosemary Wingrove, affirmed that it becomes hard to achieve in dance sport due to high costs involved and it becomes even harder for students with not enough earnings. Previously, Rosemary has managed to secure sponsorship for this couple towards their lessons, but unfortunately those funds have now been exhausted which means that they cannot take regular lessons.
“These lessons are necessary to make sure that dancers improve and keep on par with their international counterparts. South Africa needs citizens of this calibre. Dance Sport is a wonderful form of sport which is gathering more and more momentum worldwide. It is tragic if couples of this standard are denied the opportunity to represent South Africa due to lack of funds,” she said.
A plea goes out to anyone with means to support Nkululeko and Lezariah towards realising their dream. Anyone willing to assist can contact Rosemary on 082 454 5036 or their manager, Sifiso Mnumzane Cele, on 082 681 2739.
