Grahamstown's Dakawa ballroom dancers are making great strides – in every way.
Grahamstown's Dakawa ballroom dancers are making great strides – in every way.
The dancers are preparing to represent Makana Municipality in the Champ of Champs ballroom dancing competition in Johannesburg next week.
Earlier this month they emerged as Makana's top dance group in the local leg of the contest, returning with 22 medals and eight diplomas.
Xolani Mboyi, who started the group in 2010, has been dancing since 1994. He says his plan is for the Dakawa dancers to make the national team through their participation in the worlds trials which would enable them to compete on an international level.
The Inter-world champs trials will be held in Johannesburg on 23 September. Mboyi says he is very confident about their participation having prepared for the moment for quite some time.
Mboyi’s biggest wsh for the Makana community is for all the other Grahamstown-based dance groups to merge with his to form a strong Makana cohesion. Currently there are two dance groups in the town which Mboyi wishes he could join forces with , in order to strengthen dance participation on a municipal level.
The other Grahamstown-based dance teams, A Plus Dance Academy and Rhodes University will also be competing at the world trials.
"My wish is that we merge with A Plus and Rhodes so that we can make a great Makana team. We can work well if we decide to do it together," said Mboyi.
The group is currently self-sustaining and Mboyi says they give thanks to the veteran Ben Ndlukulu as their source of inspiration.
He says this is more than just a dance group as it also teaches their children about behaviour and how to live a better life.
