The Ultimates Showstoppers on the stage
Talent abounded at the Guild Theatre where singers, dancers and actors gave it their best shot
It is through their amazing ability to croon, sway, strut, pirouette, act or entertain that this group of hopefuls made it to the PNA Ultimate Performer finals.
Held at the Guild Theatre in East London last Sunday, the 2019 leg of the talent show sought to reward the best dancers, singers, models, actors, instrumentalists and triple threat (singing, dancing and acting) performers.
Now in its ninth year, the PNA Ultimate Performer offers a much-needed opportunity for performing artists to build their on-stage experience and gain exposure, while also building their confidence.
Audience members were wowed by the calibre of this year’s performances, with performers walking away with thousands of rands in prizes.
Dancer extraordinaire Odwa Zwedala, who goes by the stage name of Owen, said he founded dance group Fantastic Family back in 2013. The five-member group met in a dance group called Happy Youth but when the founder died, Zwedala started his own group and fellow group members followed him.
Under his leadership, the group not only showcases their own talent but teaches dance hopefuls the art of hip-hop, pantsula, sibujwa, African, township and contemporary dance which are their signature dance styles.
Weekly practice takes place at Zwedala’s NU9 home in Mdantsane in a space specifically created into a makeshift dance studio. Group members, who are between the ages of 24 to 28, are all from Mdantsane.
Zwedala wears the hat of group leader and main choreographer for most of their dance routines.
Fantastic Family walked away with the overall ultimate senior and open group performance prize which earned them R10,000.
Their routine was a culmination of their various dance styles, with the dance members exploding onto stage with vibrancy and high energy.
“None of us are studying currently, our sole focus is on dancing. We spend hours practising and honing our skills,” he said. “At school I played sport, mostly soccer, but nothing was ever better than dancing. It makes me feel free. It fills my life. I don’t go out to party and I don’t drink. All I do is stay home, play my music and work on my choreography.
“I come up with new routines almost daily or I practise the ones I already know. My entire life is about dancing.”
According to Zwedala, this is their second entry into the PNA Ultimate Performer.
Apart from his group win, the dancer also entered a duet with fellow Fantastic Family member Sibongile Stephen which won them the overall ultimate senior and open performer category and the main prize of R20,000.
“It’s so crazy but Sibongile and I only actually came up with that dance routine three hours before the auditions. We only got to practice it once before we had to perform it. But we are so grateful for the win.
“We hope to use these winnings to further our dancing career and perhaps make us enough money to one day be able to live off dancing alone. We make money right now by charging for dance classes,” he said.
This contestant can model and dance, having entered both categories in previous years, but this year walked away with the recognition for advancing the performing arts in the face of adversity prize which came with a R2,000 reward.
Nahoon resident Tasha Oosthuizen, who has Down's Syndrome, has been dancing with the Tracy Delport Dance Company for the past four years.
Specialising in modern, contemporary and hip-hop, the 20year-old dancer said she loved the art because of the freedom it affords one.
Dressed in a black ensemble for her performance, Oosthuizen wowed audiences with a modern piece which she said was an expression of her inner emotions.
“I love to embrace my emotions and then later express them through dancing. I love to dance. My condition doesn’t hold me back at all, instead I use it to my advantage,” she said, adding that Down’s Syndrome causes ligamentous laxity, a looseness of the ligaments which causes increased flexibility in the joints.
“I can shake my body in every direction, I can do the splits and I can stretch. I can do a lot of really difficult dance moves that many can't which is great.”
Paige Collins, who walked away with the R5,000 PNA choice award, said she has been dancing since the age of five.
Now a 12-year-old Merrifield Primary School pupil, the young dancer has appeared on many different dance platforms which include the South African Champs of Performing Arts.
In her ninth year of entering the PNA Ultimate Performer, the Nicole Windell Steps of Style dancer said she was inspired by her dancer brother, Camdon Dicks, who is studying at Nelson Mandela University.
Her win was for a captivating dance routine titled “Breaking Point” which encompassed both hip-hop dance and ballet. With her costume split in half, one side a perfectly poised ballet dancer and the other a slightly rough hip-hop dancer, Collins perfectly portrayed a split personality, with the story told by the accuracy of her feet as they moved to the beat of the music.
She said her favourite style of dance is contemporary and jazz.
“With contemporary, it’s like you can fly without wings. It feels like you’re gliding on water. I love dance for the discipline it instils plus the ability to entertain people too.”
For the contest, the pupil performed two dances, plus one triple threat – where she sang, danced and acted.
She said of the show: “I really enjoyed it. I had a lot of fun doing it. I have entered this show since it started and I will continue to while I’m still dancing.”
The young dancer is off to represent South Africa in the DanceStar World Finals which are taking place in Croatia later this year.