Eldos dance head to international champions

No Limits Academy Of Arts International (NLAAI) hosted a fundraiser event at St Ives Primary School, Klipspruit West, on August 3.

The funds are meant to contribute towards their journey to compete in the Intercontinental Dance Championship finals in Cape Town and the Revolution International Dance Championships in Australia.

The event featured an u16 dance battle titled All Street Dance Champions (ASDC), where over 50 dancers battled for the title.

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It intended to award a passionate amateur dancer with an opportunity to travel with NLAAI and experience the art of dance on an international stage.

The all-star team of judges included Madamo Makhanya, Nkosinathi ‘Mr NT’ Ngwenya, Erin Carollisen, and Angelo ‘250 Machine’ Mokonenyane.

Jonathan Retief, director of NLAAI said instead of solely focusing on fundraising, they decided to create a platform for children to showcase their talents and qualify to travel with the academy to Australia.

He said the academy was trying to serve as a national platform to catapult dancers to international platforms.

“Today was just the start of that ripple effect, we pray to God to give us strength to do it on a larger scale next year, with better marketing, resources and funding. We pray that he opens those doors for us so that we can help children,” said Retief.

He said limiting the competition to the u16 division was necessary and needed for those children to get attention because most of them are neglected.

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He further noted that the neglect could result in rebellious behaviour from a child who was once sweet and respectful.

“If we cannot stop it, we can curb it and allow positive growth to happen. We can easily change a generation if we target them from that age in my perspective.”

Professional dancer 250 Machine shared her experience and knowledge with the youngsters.

She originally trained as a studio and street dancer in Cape Town before moving to Johannesburg to explore the commercial side of dance.

She said the competition was good, however, some dancers exhibited a performance mentality rather than a battle spirit.

Amapiano dancers often used commercial moves and looked down while performing, which signals a lack of confidence.

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In battles, dancers faced all five people and only a few had a battle instinct, the energy was also lacking.

“To improve, dancers should get used to battling their friends, become comfortable in every move, and focus on catching the beat.

“Even if they do not know the song, they should perform like they have been listening to it. Focus on basics, like basic hip hop bounce, and get in sync with the music,” said 250 Machine.

“In the showcase round, dancers should look up, interact with the audience, and always come with their best energy. Performance value is about your face and energy, not just the moves you perform.”

Another judge, Mr NT reiterated, adding that he appreciated that there was support for dance but he felt like the dancers could do better.

“We do not want to lie to them and say they are good because when they go out there they will see the real world, especially on the international stage.

“Whoever wins today still has a lot of work because they do not have direction, they just perform moves that they see on TV or social media, they never got training,” said Mr NT.

Founder of Davidson Exclusive Designs and former dancer, Sylvester Davidson said it was beautiful to have a local competition because they never got the opportunity.

“We always had to travel to compete. We were either going to Cape Town or Durban but this initiative offers a platform for young dancers to gain their confidence and build up from here,” said Davidson.

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At least eight dancers from NLAAI, Alexander Carlo, Enrique Busby, Asherdene Hopper, Emihle Qomoyi, Kay Jordaan, Shernique Mc Kenzie, Taylin Seves and Jaylee Booysens, along with two parents, Retief and the ASDC winner, Mpho Nkinga will represent South Africa in Australia in November.

The event was supported by St Ives Primary School, KJC events hiring, Umswenko Ent, Re-Fashion, Davidson Exclusive Designs, LA Designs and Eldos FM.