GEORGE NEWS - Local ballroom dancers excelled at the South African Dance Teachers Association (SADTA) Pro/Am Ballroom and Latin-American Western Province Championships held mid-June in Cape Town.
This despite the fact that their dance
instructor and principal, Wehan van Jaarsveld, was unable to partner girls from the Outeniqua Dansakademie (ODA) and York Dance
Academy (YDA).
He expressed his delight at the results after local competitors returned with a whole raft of awards. Van Jaarsveld, who was involved in a motorbike accident earlier this month, explained how the show went on without him after he called in a few favours.
The competitive ODA and YDA contestants spent the entire year preparing for this prestigious event. Fortunately, help came from former Georgian and acclaimed ballroom dancer Anthony Rau, the studio director at Enerchi Studios in Cape Town - the studio known in ballroom circles to be the current top technical studio for Pro/Am dancers in Cape Town. He is also an ex-Georgian and alumnus of Outeniqua High School.
In addition to this, Rau heads up instructor training for the International Dance Teachers Association (IDTA) endorsed by the Dance Institute of South Africa (DISA), where two former YDA and ODA dancers are currently completing their associate qualifications in Cape Town.
For the uninitiated, Pro/Am dancing refers to the circuit in ballroom and Latin-American dancing where the teacher (pro) partners his or her students (amateur) on the competitive floor. Pro/Am dancing is currently the fastest growing circuit of ballroom and Latin dancing in the world and competitions in South Africa are judged by celebrities in the field like Tebogo Kgebokoe, Michael Wentink and Tyrone Watkins, of Strictly Come Dancing fame.
"Usually Simoné Galand (associate teacher and studio principal) and I divide the girls between us based on factors such as how many of them dance in the same heats for instance, but this time a dear friend of mine jumped in and helped out - to the great excitement of all the dancers. This year I watched from my hospital bed as the girls took Cape Town by storm and literally 'had a ball'," said Van Jaarsveld. They returned with the following results:
Monique Silkstone - 1st Bronze Final Youth Latin; 2nd Prelim Bronze Youth Ballroom and 1st Tango Single Dance Section;
Hildi Vermeulen - 4th Silver Intermediate Youth Latin and 3rd Prelim Bronze Youth Ballroom;
Emma Nel - 1st Prelim Bronze Junior Latin;
Simoné van Niekerk - 1st Prelim Bronze Youth Latin;
Calista Nel - 1st Intermediate Bronze Youth Ballroom & 3rd Silver Intermediate Youth Latin.
Tamryn Oats 1st (Uncontested) - Silver
Final Youth Latin and 2nd - Intermediate Bronze Youth Ballroom
Calista De Lange 1st - Prelim Bronze Youth Ballroom and 2nd -Silver Intermediate Youth Latin.
"We are incredibly proud of them and can't wait to see what they are going to do at SA Champs at the end of the year," said Van Jaarsveld.
Monique Silkstone (representing ODA) and Simoné Galand, of the Dance Academies Studio Group, prepare to dance their Latin Title Section.
Back from left are: Calista Nel, Emma Nel, Simoné van Niekerk, Hildi Vermeulen and Monique Silkstone. Front: Tamryn Oates, Anthony Rau and Calista de Lange.
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