Cameron sings, dances like a fish out of water
HE may be invincible in the pool — with a string of gold medals as proof — but kwaito has beaten Olympic star Cameron van der Burgh.
The 25-year-old has had to tackle a few “extreme” activities to get a taste of how we mere mortals feel when we are chucked in at the deep end and told to sink or swim.
The man who was voted sportsman of the year at the South African Sports Awards last weekend is having his confidence out of the pool tested in a series of short TV clips called
Cam Cam You You Can, Can, which he is shooting as brand ambassador for a shampoo product.
One hair-raising challenge was having to be funny in front of a live audience. He performed a short stand-up comedy routine at Parkers Comedy Club at Montecasino, north of Johannesburg, this month. Van der Burgh managed to squeeze a few chuckles from the crowd, thanks to some tips beforehand from comedian Joe Parker, who owns the club.
“I saw a headline the other day: ‘Cartoonist found dead at home, details sketchy,’” was one crack.
“The comedy set felt amazing. Before going on stage I was worried how they’d react to my jokes, but the crowd was really responsive and I definitely enjoyed it,” the athlete said.
But viewers thought otherwise. They quickly took to Twitter, telling him to stick to swimming.
Karin Schwartz wrote: “@Cameronvdburgh . . . cam comedy . . . awesome one . . . jst dnt change jobs.” Skye MacArthur said: “@Cameronvdburgh hahahahah LOL #ComedySkit #GoodTryDude stick to swimming?”
For another short video, broadcast last week, Van der Burgh slipped into skintight royal blue kit for a daring but “easy” trapeze act. It saw him swinging and flying about solo and, later, as part of a double and triple act.
“The trapeze was relatively easy. I find doing things that require me to use my physical strength to be much easier than a lot of other stuff,” he said.
That would be kwaito, in this case. Van der Burgh had to show off moves on stage along with DJ Tira and Durban kwaito trio Big Nuz during a gig in front of more than 300 people at a Sandton night club last month.
“Of all the challenges, that was the hardest. You know they say white men don’t have rhythm — well, it is true,” he said.
In the clip that will be screened this week, he can be seen dancing to Big Nuz’s hits on stage, something he “probably wouldn’t try again”.
“Standing on that stage with all those eyes staring at me was the biggest test because they were all probably thinking: ‘How sad does he look?’ And I was probably sticking out like a sore thumb next to Big Nuz, who were such professionals,” he said.