By Doreen Mokgolo
In what started as an extramural activity to keep young people off the streets, nine pantsula dancers from Tembisa, Ekurhuleni have risen to become international stars.
The Tembisa Red Devils pantsula dance team will be jetting off to Turkey to share their dance skills in the country’s theatres for nine months.
Group founder Frans Makhubela said 12 years ago he decided to form the group in a bid to distract the youth from crime, substance abuse and teenage pregnancy.
“We started as a four-member group, dancing at the traffic intersections, and taxi ranks.”
“Residents loved our talent and would donate money. This motivated us to work on our craft,” he said.
The donated funds went towards the team’s uniforms and travelling expenses as they were entered in international competitions.
The group had previously shared their talent with the people of the US and France. They made it to the top six of the France Has Talent TV show in 2019.
Makhubela, 31, said they competed with 100 groups from across the world, so making it that far in the competition is one of the biggest milestones in their dance careers.
One of their biggest achievements is when they were crowned winners of the 2020 Best Dance Group in The Zikomo Africa Awards in Zambia.
“We are different and appeal to the world’s stages because we keep reinventing ourselves to remain relevant.”
“We develop our styles and infuse other dance styles with pantsula,” he said.
He said the group’s dream is to open a dance academy in Tembisa to train and share their skills with young people in the area.
Pictured above: Thembisa Red Devils
Image source: Supplied
