1. MONDAY AUGUST 4 2008
S
o you think you can dance,
huh? Well, like, ja,
apparently South Africans
do think they can dance.
Whether they langarm in the
platteland or jika majika ekasi,
Mzansi knows how to get down.
After its success in US (where it
held the No 1 spot on the Best
Summer Shows list last year), the
reality TV dance show, comes to
South Africa for the first time with
a jaw dropping incentive: the
ultimate winner is set to walk away
with prizes valued at a whopping
R250 000!
Well-known TV personality,
Sade Giliberti, is in the presenter’s
seat.
“It’s exciting to be part of this
awesome show. It’s a good
comeback opportunity for me,”
said Sade, who returns to the
screen after an 18-month
break.
The brunette tagged
along during the
countrywide audition
rounds and she
admits that she
was stunned by the level of talent
she saw. “I know we have a lot of
people who can dance in this
country, but what I have seen so far
has been beyond my expectations.
“The talent out there is
incredible!” she told Tonight.
During the auditions, the judges
chose those whom they believed to
be the finest dancers from among
the entrants. It’s these top 40
hopefuls that we’ll see being put
through a gruelling elimination
process when the TV show starts
on Saturday.
What are the judges looking for?
For Harold van Buuren (an
acclaimed dancer and choreo-
grapher who’s worked with Ricky
Martin, Boyz II Men and Kylie
Minogue) its
about
“commitment, respect of the art,
focus and fashion”.
When asked what dance trends
stood out for him during the
nationwide auditions, Van
Buuren’s feeling was that “hip-hop
dancing is most prominent among
our youth today … Stomping,
crunking or stepping is the in thing
and these youngsters are pretty
good at it.”
Asked why the channel had
decided to sign on for the show,
SABC1 brand manager, Yongama
Magida said: “We already have
shows like Jika Majika, where
talent is showcased, and with So
You Think You Can Dance, we
are in a continuous
process of telling the
story of Mzansi
through
dance.”
The
brains
behind
this show
Duncan
Irvine,
reiterated
Magida’s
sentiments. “We were
responsible for Strictly
Come Dancing and after
seeing how much interest it
generated we decided to bring
So You Think You Can Dance,
which we are certain will be
successful,” he said.
The show will follow the same
format as the US version, the only
difference being that the dance
styles are influenced by our
cultural idosyncrasies.
Viewers can save their favourite
particpants by voting for them via
SMS, while the j udges
are left to do the
sacking.
■ So You Think You
Can Dance debuts on
SABC1 on Saturday,
at 6.30pm. Pay-
television
subscribers can
catch the fourth
season of the US
version on
M-Net Series, on
August 19, at
6.30pm.
The Shield Teens No Sweat Dance
Challenge will take place in the
country’s major cities throughout
August. Girls aged between 12 and
18 will be given the chance to win
R50 000 and kick-start a career in
dancing.
The competitions will be shown on
e.tv in September. Auditions will be held
in the following cities:
■Durban: Friday at the Gateway Theatre
of Shopping’s Expo Xplore and Saturday at
The BAT Centre.
■Cape Town: Friday, 15 at Canal Walk
Central Promotions Court and Saturday, 16,
at Artscape.
■ Joburg: Friday, 22 and Saturday, 23 at
Clearwater Mall.
■Also featured on e.tv this month is
the final leg of the Wimpy b.eat
competiton. Freestyle dancers will
compete for a chance to win an all-
expenses paid trip to the 2009 Grammy
Awards in the US. Catch the finalists
on Craze’s Frenzy at 3.30pm every
Tuesday. The winner will be
revealed on August 19.
▲
3EGOLI’S SHAUN TAKES FLAK
▲
8CYBIL’S ALL SHOOK UP
As MUNYARADZI VOMO discovers, that’s exactly what South Africans
like to do as the local version of So You Think You Can Dance airs on
Saturday on SABC1.
Dance my pretty,
dance some more
KICK-START A CAREER IN DANCING
HAIROLD KNOWS
BEST: Harold van
Buuren says it’s all
about respect for the
art (and how much
time goes in to his
grooming regime).
COMEBACK: Sade
Giliberti is back on
the box to host the
SABC1 reality dance
show.