Young man dances away from drugs
[caption id="attachment_36102" align="alignright" width="300"] DANCE FOR JOY: Sachin Baatjies has found a new way of life away from drugs. Picture: JUDY DE VEGA[/caption]
IT took Sachin Baatjies, 20, of Gelvan Park, one dance move to save him from a life of drugs and becoming a dealer. Baatjies, Port Elizabeth's own hip-hop KRUMP master, told of the horrors he experienced being the son of one of Port Elizabeth's most prominent drug lords.
He said KRUMP – an acronym for Kingdom Radically Uplifting Mighty Praise – rid him of a life of dealing in drugs, dodging police while making drop-offs, seeing drug dealers being beaten to death, and other violence.
Living with his father, Shane Plaatjies, who was convicted of racketeering and dealing in drugs last year, Baatjies said life as a child in the northern areas was tough.
"I was only 11 when I realised that it was dealing in drugs, and doing so successfully, that made my father such a rich man," he said.
"By the age of 15, I I was dealing in rocks [crack] and cocaine myself. I even tried it a little and pursued the lavish lifestyle in which money talks.
"A lot of youngsters think dealing drugs is the answer out of poverty, but it is not. I was lucky that dance found me just in time. Who knows where I would have been."
While celebrating Youth Month with his peers, Baatjies motivates the youngsters in the northern suburbs, where gangsterism and drug abuse are rife, to choose a life different to the norm.
As one of the most sought-after KRUMP dancers in the country and trainers in Port Elizabeth, he hopes to attract every youngster to choose dance above drugs.
"I was in matric when I went to hang at the Boardwalk with my friends one day. That's when the Déjavu dance crew noticed me while they were recruiting dancers in Port Elizabeth.
"I couldn't understand what they saw in a street-smart kid like me, but today I know it was God's way of stepping in to help me embrace the talent he has given me."
Baatjies said KRUMP – an urban, aggressive, and spiritual form of dance with Christian roots – landed him top places in local, national and international dance competitions like the Buck Olympics and Masters of Rhythm, among others.
"To really understand KRUMP, I was at one stage isolated and trained by the world's greatest dancers. But to really understand what it is to be young and free, I met Jesus," he said.
"With these tools I hope I can reform young people in Port Elizabeth to say no to drugs, even if the drug dealer is someone as close to you as your father." - Alvené du Plessis
