Local dancer says hello to New York
ROODEPOORT – A dancer, who believes dance is not a hobby but a lifestyle, will represent South Africa in a talent competition in New York this July.
Linden’s Rebecca Burger has proved to be one of the best dancers in South Africa in a competition against thousands of people from across the country.
She competed at the Talent Africa 2015 nationals at the Roodepoort Civic Theatre from 24 to 28 March were she clinched five gold medals.
“I enjoyed my time in the competition thoroughly. It was amazingly organised and came together beautifully. One could say it was world class,” she said.
Each day consisted of various categories such as dancing, acting, vocals, modelling and photography.
During the competition, the 22-year-old modelled, performed her ballet on pointe routine; her contemporary lyrical piece and an African fusion piece.
The talented beauty won a total of five gold medals for her ballet routine, contemporary dance, African fusion performance, modelling and photography.
“I am absolutely overwhelmed and excited with my achievement. I have been working since last year September when I won the regionals as top dancer. I guess it’s true what they say ‘hard work pays off’.”
As a result of her win, Burger will represent South Africa in New York from 5 to 16 July in the Talent America competition.
“In New York, scouts are invited to watch and hopefully make dreams come true for many dancers like myself,” she said.
According to Burger, this would not have been possible without immense support from family and friends.
“Without their thoughts and constant kind words, I would not be where I am today and it is because of them that I can follow my dreams and turn them into eality.”
Burger also thanked her coach Dawn Meyer for the support.
Offering advice to upcoming dancers, Burger said, “Dancing, in any form, is not easy. It takes a huge amount of sacrifice and dedication. As I’m sure many sportsmen do, we suffer a lot of pain – sore feet, bleeding, bruising – but we learn to cope with it.”
She concluded by stating that Martha Graham, a famous dancer, once said, “A great dancer is not great because of their technique; they are great because of their passion.”
