BY PHUMZILE NDLOVU
MBABANE – lifting the kingdom’s flag high through ballet.
In what will be the first for Eswatini, young ballet dancer Ndoniyamanzi Luhlanga will be competing at the Dance World Cup qualifiers in Centurion, Pretoria, on March 16, this year.
Luhlanga started ballet at Talent ‘n’ Motion Academy in 2017 at age 4 and has won gold at numerous dance competitions, including a recent win at the South African Ballet Competition in Cape Town in July 2022. She is now 11 years old.
For the DWC qualifiers Luhlanga will be doing a contemporary solo choreographed by dance teacher @TNM and choreographer Velile Dube.
When reached for comment the director of Talent ‘n’ Motion Academy, Velile Dube, said that they are excited and proud of Luhlanga and how far she has come in her journey. She went on to say that the dance school is on a mission to create dancers who can compete at the international level, hence signing Luhlanga up for the Dance World Cup. “We are not teaching our dance students for the sake of teaching, but for them to take their craft to greater heights. Our mission is to help create a happier, healthier, and more open-minded future generation; therefore, exposing them to international platforms will help them dream bigger and, in turn, become better.”
She added, “We wish this young dance extraordinaire all the best and trust that she will make it to the finals in Prague, Czech Republic, in July.
The prestigious Dance World Cup qualifiers event will take place from March 11–16, 2024, in Centurion, Pretoria. Competitors stand a chance to qualify for the Dance World Cup finals in Prague, Czech Republic. The South African qualifiers will be judged by South African and international judges from Europe.
