A dance major who wants to preserve our cultural heritage
Buthelezi went overseas to realise her dream
Opportunities come to those who are open to them, not to those who wait for luck.
This is the view of Thabile Buthelezi, who was the first South African student to receive the prestigious Choreomundus: International Master in Dance Knowledge, Practice and Heritage Scholarship in 2015.
Choreomundus is a programme that investigates dance and other movement systems (ritual practices, martial arts, games and physical theatre) as intangible cultural heritage. It is offered by a consortium of four universities in Norway, France, Hungary and the United Kingdom.
“I am the first South African to graduate from this programme and I am hoping that this can inspire other girls in rural areas and townships,’’ Buthelezi told Sowetan. “You are never too far from your dreams. The only thing keeping you away from them is sitting and waiting for something to happen when you could create your own opportunities or other alternative ways of reaching those dreams.”
The KwaMashu-born arts and culture enthusiast had an opportunity to lecture at the Université Clermont Auvergne (UCA) before graduating with her International Master’s degree in Dance Knowledge, Practice and Heritage from Roehampton University in London this month.
“I am honoured and grateful for being the first South African to graduate. I hope to take my expertise and experience, and (contribute) to the creative economy of South Africa,’’ the 23-year-old said.
“One of the major highlights of the programme was carrying out fieldwork in Hungary on folk dance festivals. This to me was important because one of my goals is to plan, develop and carry out a folk dance festival in South Africa.”
Buthelezi is currently in South Africa to carry out fieldwork as part of her Masters thesis under the programme and says her next step will be to register for a PhD.
She has been performing for more than 10 years, starting her career at the KwaMashu Community Advancement Project (KCAP) in 2000.
She started dancing when she was a young girl, even though she says she did not have any particular role models who influenced her choice.
She recalls how she started taking dance seriously from the year 2000, when she was in primary school, and continued to dance under the African Music and Dance Programme throughout high school.