By Francois van Eck
Dare 2 Dance (D2D) Studios from Port Elizabeth hosted their 15th Inter School (now inter
district) Ballroom Competition at the Feather Market Centre in Port Elizabeth on
Saturday 12 May.
Grahamstown dance club, Dance With… entered 12 pupils from St Andrew’s
College and Diocesan School for Girls (DSG), six from Kingswood College and one
pupil from Victoria Girls’ High School.
The local dancers competed against 250 pupils from 14 different High Schools across levels like Pre Bronze, Bronze Badge, Silver Badge and Gold Badge. Two couples reached the finals in the Bronze Badge level for their Ballroom and Latin dances.
Nic De Jager (St Andrew’s) and Michaela Lucas (Kingswood) were third in the
Ballroom section and Nic De Jager and Francoise Marais (Kingswood) were fifth in
the Latin section.
Sanele Mboto (St Andrew’s) and his partner Kuhle Stamper (Kingswood) danced in the Gold
Badge level and reached the semi-finals in the Latin section.
All the couples danced well and with such energy and charisma. The competition champions
for 2018 were Alexander Road High School, Pearson came second and new competitors
Lawson Brown High School were third overall. The adjudicators at the competition were
Miranda Botha, Vice President of the South African Dance Teachers Association (SADTA)
and Chairperson in the Eastern Cape; Gladys Bullock, Director of the South African Dance
Teachers Association (SADTA) and SADTA Chairperson in the Western Cape; Dina Marx,
member of the SADTA and Peter Mann, member of the SADTA as well as the Rhodes
University Ballroom Society instructor.
The competition included a Varsity section where Rhodes and Nelson Mandela Universities
competed. The competition was thoroughly enjoyed by both the pupils and their parents
who supported the competition. Kudos to the participating dance pupil, the schools and the parents (especially those who travelled to watch the competition) for their support and dedication to ballroom dancing.
Dancing is a skill that should be nurtured and developed over time. With continued
commitment and hard work we can look forward to continued growth as individuals and as a
club. We look forward to our new grade 8 and beginner ballroom dancers competing in the
competition in 2019. Keep on dancing. For the love of dance.
