SA’s champion remains professional despite a song and dance in the British tabloids
A NEW season of the BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing begins on DStv this weekend, where things sizzled both off and on screen.
The season features professional South African dance Otlile Mabuse, an eight-time South African Latin American champion.
She was paired with Olympic boxer Anthony Ogogo.
Pretoria-born Mabuse has previously competed in the German version of Strictly Come Dancing, known as Let’s Dance on German broadcaster RTL. This is her first season on the British version, the first incarnation of the now global ballroom reality TV format.
The 13th season of the BBC’s show begins tomorrow on DStv’s BBC Lifestyle, channel 174, at 6pm.
Celebrities in this season include TV chef Ainsley Harriott, BBC weather reporter Carol Kirkwood, Call the Midwife actress Helen George, and singers Jamelia and Peter André.
Her pairing with Ogogo was mired by some controversy.
Ogogo reportedly told The Sun: “I didn’t think that the BBC would put us together because we’re black or mixed race. I honestly thought they would spread the minorities around.”
Other rumours had Mabuse putting Ogogo on a sex ban, which she flatly denied on Twitter, saying “Not at all… that’s not of my business”.
In an interview with Independent Media this week 24year-old Mabuse described dancing with Ogogo as “amazing”.
“We hit it off from the beginning. We have the same humour and literally enjoyed every minute of training with him. When we met all we really wanted to do was dance…
“It was difficult because he entered the competition with a dislocated shoulder so a lot of the figures were difficult to work out or do as we were re- stricted to one arm. But he pushed through and made up for his lack of arm movement with his dedication,” she said.
Mabuse began dancing as a tot though she went on to study civil engineering. “I started dancing at the age of 4. I started dancing before I could talk; it was a real talent and passion of mine. Engineering came later as my mother advised me to challenge myself and study something not in the arts field so I could have a backup plan in case the dancing didn’t work out.
“Unfortunately, in South Africa, it’s difficult to make a living out of Latin and ballroom dancing and my parents always wanted the best for me.”
She later moved to Germany to pursue a career in dance, a place where she had to attend dance lectures and could not understand a word until she learnt the language.
“The dancing scene is brilliant. If any South African dancers ask me which country they should move to to pursue a career in competitive dancing, I would recommend Germany. The systems, the discipline, the dedication and level of the dancers are truly amazing and they try to bring the best out of themselves all the time.
“Naturally as my sister Motsi Mabuse had won her German title for the third time in a row I was inspired and chose Germany.”
Motsi is a judge on Germany’s Let’s Dance.
She believes that Ogogo’s quotes were misinterpreted by the British tabloids.
“I’m South African, and very proud to be a black South African woman.
“Nothing fills me more with joy than knowing who I am and where I come from. Race will always be a small part of my life especially in this line of work.
“I’ve accepted it but it doesn’t define me. I think I have a bit of experience and knowledge on how to conduct myself. The best way in any situation is to work hard and let your work do all the talking.
“I do believe Anthony’s quotes were twisted by the tabloids to sensationalise the situation because he never meant to attack the BBC or the producers of Strictly (Come Dancing).”
Mabuse was recently in Cape Town but has returned to Germany. When in South Africa, she visits her home, in Mabopane, Tshwane, and makes a trip to Cape Town to see her sister, Phemelo Mitchell.
“I make sure I see all my family in Gauteng and we celebrate with singing and dancing. (My sister in Cape Town is) really into hiking and marathons. Usually we hike up Lion’s Head but this time we did that and Table Mountain.
“Another love of mine is to go to Robben Island just to remind myself of how lucky I am, and for fun Camps Bay, Long Street, Stellenbosch, a sunset cruise and of course lunch at Mzoli’s are a must.”