Dancers from the Federation of Dance Sport Western Cape wiped the floor with their rivals at a national competition, bringing home no less than eleven first prize trophies.
The South African Achievers and National Championships 2024 in Latin American and Standard (Ballroom) in Limpopo was hosted by the Federation of Dance Sport South Africa, which is proudly celebrating their 30 year anniversary.
It took place at the Ngoako Ramahlodi Sports Complex in Polokwane from 4-5 October, when hundreds of dancers from across the country came to show off their best moves.
This comes after over 200 Latin and Ballroom dancers competed in the annual Western Cape Provincial Championships at the Belhar Indoor Sport Centre last month.
Provincial chairperson for the Federation of Dance Sport Western Cape, David-John Michael-Steyn says of these, 25 couples from the Western Province between the ages of 8 to 64 competed at the nationals.
He says: “I am so proud. To see the couples and parents arrive, they looked amazing, the costumes and energy was amazing.
“It was a really proud moment to see our dancers excel. It did not matter if a Western Cape dancer came first, second or third, we cheered them on.
“The parents worked really hard because all the travelling costs and costumes come out of the parents pockets.
“If a costume needed to be fixed on the floor while they were dancing, a dance mom would sew it up quickly, and not necessarily the dancer’s mom, but that is the sportsmanship and culture that we have.”
The team won gold in 11 categories, including Youth Championship, U21 Championship, Adult Championship, Adult Professional, Junior 2 Championship, the Senior 1 and 2 Championship in Standard and in Latin they won Junior 2 Championship, Youth Championship, U/21 Championship and Adult Professional.
Dance partners Jayden Lottering and Hannah October were crowned the national Youth Latin champs.
Michael-Steyn says for now their dancers will continue to compete in smaller competitions in the province and those who have received their South African titles will start preparing for World Championships taking place next year.
Coach Donovan Forbes adds: “The majority of these athletes are the Western Cape champions and now eligible to represent the country at the world championships.”
Micheal-Steyn is appealing for any governmental or corporate funding as the dancers do not get any assistance. Contact him on 081 349 2861.
marsha.dean@inl.co.za