Passing on his love of dancing
Ntombentsha Msutu
WHAT started out as an act of simply being a dancing partner to his aunt has become such a passion for Thembinkosi Ndoni, 39, from NU3, that he is now teaching the next generation to love it.
He started dancing in 1984 at the Nomzamo Youth dancing club – based at the Centenary Hall, now known as Nangoza Jebe.
"Ballroom for me back then was just a nightmare as I was more of a a hip-hop guy. As time went by I started loving it," said Ndoni.
Ndoni has taken part in many competitions.
He came third in the first competition he entered, called Ring Gold. He also came third in his second one, the Rama competition and also in the Impala Dance competition.
"One of the highlights of my dancing career was when I entered a competition called Rumba In The Jungle. It was hosted in Sun City, and I came third," Ndoni said.
In 2003 he opened the Ndoni Dance Academy in Motherwell and Magxaki where he trains children in ballroom and Latin American dance.
The next year disaster struck when he took the children to their first dance competition in Cape Town
"We were involved in an accident on the way and I decided to take a break from everything.
"I took a year off and when I came back the following year I was ready to take on the world.
"Last year two kids from my academy went to Paris to represent South Africa, and this year they are going to England," said Ndoni.
This year the Ndoni Dance Academy, Eastern Cape Dance Art Foundation and Metro Dance Association will be working together to train township children in a wide variety of dance forms, from Latin American to gum boot, traditional dance, Pantsula and hip hop.
"We want to create a platform for the children of the metro to be able to compete at an international level with this programme.
"We want to engage the community to participate, so we are involving all genres of dance."
Ndoni asks all interested people to come and register. He is also requesting anybody who can teach gum boot dancing to call him on 076-519-0606.