No Limits Academy International dances to stardom
Paving the way for aspiring dancers
Jonathan Retief has dance pumping through his veins. The Eldorado Park youngster has channelled his love for the art form into a dance academy named No Limits Academy International (NLAI).
Retief is setting the international dance stage alight with his moves and is ranked 11th internationally. This ranking came after he competed in the national dance competition and earning three gold medals while placing 67th at the time.
After this solo performance, he broke the South African national dance record which earned him another gold medal.
This performance enabled him to rack up enough points to snag the ranking.
An ambitious Retief said, “These are big shoes to fill, but I have my sights set on attaining the international highest score and becoming world champion this year.”
No Limits Academy International was founded in 2014 and have trained 80 dancers since then. Last year’s South African dance championships saw the group walking away with 14 gold medals, attesting to the quality of dancers produced at NLAI.
The group currently focuses on hip hop, but are branching into other styles of dance such as jazz, modern dance, ballet and contemporary dance to broaden their range.
Read more: Dancing to their own beat, Eldos
Dancers from the academy will be leaving for New York City on July 10 and Retief will head to England for the World Championships afterward.
Their next stop will be travelling to Serbia later this year to compete in the Euro Dance competition.
Five students from NLAI are ranked internationally in the following categories:
Aden Riberts – 15th Solo Hip Hop (U18)
Chelcie Sasman – 18th Solo Hip Hop (U18)
Chelcie Sasman and Aden Riberts – 8th Hip Hop Duet (U18)
Denilson Smith – 6th Freestyle (Advanced 18+)
Camron Sweetland and Tylon Pullen – 10th Hip Hop Duet (U16)
NLAI are registered with the South African Body of Dance, the Euro Dance Council and the World Lyrical Dance Federation and are official scouting members of Talent Africa and Talent America, and having an association with World Class Dance Tours.
Potential dancers can get hold of them at the Don Mateman Civic Centre and Retief can be reached on 071 786 6101 or on WhatsApp at 072 620 0815.
Retief concluded, “We are building a platform for our dancers to get the best career opportunities in the dance industry once they’ve completed their schooling.
“We take our craft seriously, but have fun while doing so. We dance with a limitless mindset.”
WATCH:
Video 1Â (Shot by Enver Wessels)
Video 2 (Shot by Enver Wessels)
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