by Erin Johnson
Over the July holidays, RU DanceSport Ballroom, Latin and Hip-hop competed at the USSA
competition in Cape Town, hosted by The University of Western Cape. The RU dancers spent five days in Cape Town and not a minute was wasted.
Usually, no sports or activities take place during the exam period; however, with a
competition just a few days after exams ended, there was no time to spare. Needless to say,
school comes first, so it became difficult to get everyone to practice and put together hip-
hop formation pieces (a dance done in a group), choreograph individual solos and on top of
all that, study and write our exams. At times it became quite frustrating, but we
knew we needed to give this our all if we wanted to come out victorious. So, all through
exams, we rehearsed.
From the 25-27 June, straight after exams, from 9 am to 9 pm, Bootcamp began for all
dancers. This gave us just three days to put the final touches on our solos and formations.
Soon enough, we were packed and ready to go to Cape Town.
The competition commenced on June 29, but the team arrived the day before. Day 1 was
arrival and registration. After 13 hours of driving, everyone was exhausted. Day 2 was when
the competition commenced, and it kicked off with an opening ceremony where all 12
universities presented themselves to the judges.
All the teams, except for Rhodes, were in uniform. This was because most of the dancers did
not have uniforms due to funding issues. The team tried to make an alternative
arrangement, by attempting to get everyone to wear black. Despite this, we still felt out of
place, and the lack of funds put into DanceSport showed in our unfortunate un-uniformity.
Day 3 and 4 of the competition were dedicated to Ballroom and Latin. Nine of our
Ballroom and Latin dancers competed in various heats and sections. In the All-Girls Ballroom
section, Caitlin Webb and Tahnee Bennet placed sixth for level 1. In the Adult Disability
Ballroom section, Tahnee Bennett and Chuma Modze placed first overall. In the Adult
Championships Ballroom, Vuyisa Sigonyela came second and Logan Wessels finished third.
In the Latin All Girls Section, Zizipho Ngoqo and Azizipho Ngoqo finished in fourth place and
Kuhle Stamper and Siphumelele Mngomezulu took home first place.
Lastly, for the Latin Adult Disability Section, Tahnee Bennett and Chuma Modze finished 1st.
The final day was the Hip-hop competition. Eight hip-hop dancers competed in formation -
against the likes of Sol Plaatjie University and the University of Limpopo. Rhodes emerged
victorious, coming first in this category. Six of the eight hip-hop dancers also competed in
Solo and Battles, bringing home the top 4 in the various sections.
In the male solos Cameron Edwards came first and in the female solos, Mia Hattingh
finished fourth, with Anelisa Centani and Erin Johnson placing second and first respectively.
The Battles section is a merged male and female category of which Cameron Edwards
received 3rd place.
Congratulations to all the dancers. They danced beautifully, and the hard work and
dedication paid off.
