DURBAN - A trio of Durban dancers – Sibusiso Ndlovu, 20, Madison Bromfield, 16, and Seth Ngcobo, 22 – put the city on the dance floor map last weekend after winning two national championship titles.
Wowing audiences at the SA Dance Teachers Association South African Championships in Pretoria, Madison and Ngcobo won the Adult Rising Star champions title, while Madison and Ndlovu sizzled with their Latin performance, bringing home the Youth Rising Star championship.
The dancers, who spend hours practising their routines together, were exhilarated with their wins.
Ndlovu, who partnered with Madison only three months ago, said: “I just kept my mind on being first and I am also just so proud for Madison, it was a big step for her.
"She’s the best partner I have had.”
Ngcobo said: “It was our goal to win SAs. I am really happy that all the work we put in has paid off.
"I was happy for Madison, too, as she’s so committed and we have the same goals.”
Madison Bromfield and Seth Ngcobo in the waltz. The couple won the Adult Rising Star title
When it comes to ballroom, Madison and Ngcobo are a formidable duo and are unbeaten this year. They have been dancing together for 18 months.
Madison, who turns 17 next week, said: “You never know with the judges, of whom five were from overseas and five from South Africa.
"We were hoping to win, but when we did win, it was very overwhelming. I think I was in shock!”
And the road to success requires commitment and long hours of practise.
All three have been dancing since they were young, with Ngcobo and Ndlovu both being taken to dancing lessons by their mothers.
Ndlovu said: “I was about seven years old and we were living in Ladysmith. My mom used to dance, so she took me to dancing. It really wasn’t my thing, but then I got used to winning. I used to do ballroom and Latin, but now I only do Latin. I enjoy dancing as it lets me express feelings and emotion.”
For Ngcobo, whose mother was also a dancer, “it was not cool having to go do dance lessons, but as I got older and now on social media, I have people asking me about fitness and where they can learn to dance”.
“Now when I go onto the floor, everything else in my life goes out of my mind. When I’m not dancing, I feel as though something is missing,” he said.
Sibusiso Ndlovu and Madison Bromfield won the Latin dance category
His mother died when he was 15, which he described as a time when he “floundered”, but when he and Madison started dancing together and the three formed a close friendship, his life was back on track.
“We don’t go to parties because most weekends we are competing. If we are not competing, we are practising and talking about routines,” said Ngcobo.
The three also spend any spare time on YouTube watching international dance routines. Their goal is to dance in Blackpool in the UK, the platform where the best dancers in the world compete.
“We have a set of five routines for both Latin and ballroom, but we are constantly evolving these.
"For ballroom, we need a lot of floor space to practise which is not always easy to find. We would practise more if we could,” said Madison.
The three agree that respect plays a large part in their friendship.
“We need to have that connection. There’s lots of pressure to perform well on the day, but if we lose, you have to keep the smile on your face and use it to motivate us,” said Madison.
Ndlovu agreed: “The quickstep used to be our worst dance and we have put a lot of work in and it’s become our best.”
The cost of competing is formidable: a ballroom dress is about R14 000, Latin dresses R6 000 and the male dancers. outfits cost up to R12 000. It is expected that the same dress is never worn twice.
Ndlovu said they were constantly looking for sponsors. Looking ahead to competitions this month, all three are keeping their eyes firmly fixed on dancing their way overseas.