Queensburgh dance instructor gets the young and old up and jiving

DANCE instructor and ballroom dance expert, Elvis Pooniah, has made the move to take the gift of dance and share it with youngsters and the elderly.

Elvis, who runs a dancing school called Letango School of Dance, has begun branching out to local schools and old age homes. He teaches line dancing, ballroom dancing, bachata, jazz and occasionally the salsa.

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The Queensburgh-based dance instructor has brought his love for dance to numerous schools around Durban, some of the schools include; Sunfort Primary School, Alipore Primary School, Maidstone Primary School and Nizam Road Primary School where he hosts free dance workshops for the school children.

“I like to get all the kids involved, the kids especially love line dancing. Dancing is energetic, it’s brain therapy and it teaches the children discipline, that’s a big part of dance,” said Pooniah.

Teaching children how to enjoy dance takes Pooniah back to his own childhood, “Believe it or not, I’ve been dancing for over 35 years! I started when I was 13, my uncle enrolled me in a dancing school and it’s been my passion ever since.” He stared teaching in his mid-thirties and now tries his best to share his passion.

The dance enthusiast also works closely with Tembisa Old Age Home, “I have started going to the Tembisa nursing home to get the older people up and jiving!”

Elvis said he makes regular visits to the Tembisa Old Age Home, “I go as often as I can between my regular classes. I love going there, it’s nice to see the nursing home residents become completely free through dancing. They think they can’t walk but I make them dance!” he said.

Elvis said he would like to add some more old age homes to his roster, “I would like to work with more nursing homes, if they would like for me to come and bring some energy to their residents, free of charge, they can reach out to me on my Facebook page, Letango, School of Dance.”