South Africa is a country that loves dancing.
We’re a nation that believes in expressing ourselves through dance and harnessing the art of dance to triumph over the many challenges we face daily. This is the ethos SboNdaba Dance is based on.
Taking its name from its charismatic founder and renowned choreographer, Sbonakaliso Ndaba, this organisation has a very specific purpose – identifying promising dance talent at a community level and transforming dancers into professionally qualified, and employable, dancers and teachers.
In a country where unemployment hovers around the 35% mark, it made sense to focus on actual job creation as an outcome. “When dancers graduate from SboNdaba Dance, they will be competent performers, but more importantly, accredited dance teachers able to earn a living while applying their knowledge to the advantage of their surrounding communities,” says SboNdaba Dance Director, Sbonakaliso Ndaba.
It is this focus on job creation that attracted Extreme’s sponsorship of SboNdaba Dance. “Extreme believes in the positive power of dance to enable upliftment in South Africa,” says Natasha Coppin, Extreme Marketing Manager. “SboNdaba Dance puts purpose into practice with an outcomes-based programme that empowers individuals and creates positive energy for change in their surrounding communities. We are honoured to be part of their exciting and impactful journey powered by the invigorating kick of Extreme.”
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Apart from contributing to the funding of SboNdaba Dance’s current programme, Extreme has also integrated some of the dancers as performers into its recent Bula Sekele national dance competition. “Bula Sekele” (a phrase used in popular culture, meaning ‘make the circle bigger’) is a call to open up the dance floor to let more people in to share in the experience. It’s also a call to open up the industry and make the circle of opportunity bigger for our country’s dancers.
The qualification on offer at SboNdaba Dance is fully recognised by the South African Qualifications Authority (SAQA) and all dancers are currently on course for graduation in early 2023. These courses will enable dancers to take their present knowledge of Contemporary African Dance and Contemporary Dance with their additional teaching skills to teach extra mural classes in communities and dance studios.
In fact, all the dancers have all already been involved in teaching Outreach Classes in their communities and these courses provide further in-depth training to advance their teaching skills and to increase their confidence as teachers.
Just one of the success stories to come out of SboNdaba Dance is that of Mthetheleli Dlakavu, a promising dancer who was spotted locally and then recruited to perform at the Edinburgh Jazz & Blues Festival 2022. Mthetheleli is now rehearsing to tour the UK as part of the acclaimed musical, Shona the Musical Choir.
SboNdaba Dance is poised for a bright future and Sis’ Sbonakaliso remains as passionate as ever about the power of dance to change people’s lives. And now, with the help of Extreme, realising that dream just became a little easier.
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