Dancing to a different tune
Ndaba Dlamini
17 April 2008
Andile Ndlovu could be mistaken for any South African youngster who dreams of becoming a famous soccer or kwaito star. But this 20-year-old is of a different mould - he dreams of being one of the world's best ballet dancers.
Ndlovu is one of South Africa's most promising ballet dancers, and has already won a scholarship to one of the world’s most esteemed ballet schools - the Washington Ballet.
A rather reticent young man, wearing a simple shirt and jeans, with a bag slung over his shoulder, Ndlovu says he was spotted by Septime Webre, one of the judges at the South Africa International Ballet Competition (SAIBC) held in Cape Town earlier this year.
"I was a competitor at the event, where I impressed Septime - and most of the people who attended the competition - who said I have a very promising future to become one of the best ballet dancers in the world."
Ndlovu, who can't hide his excitement at the prospect of attending one of the world’s best ballet schools, where he has a one-year contract, will head off to the US in June. However, getting to where he his today has not been effortless.
Struggle
Born in Ladysmith, KwaZulu-Natal, Ndlovu moved to Johannesburg with his family when he was 10 years old. They lived in Soweto and later moved to Ennerdale, a suburb in the deep south of the city.
He took up Latin American dancing at school in Ennerdale, and his teacher, Patricia Pallman, introduced him to ballet.
"It was one day, about three years ago, when I was on my way home in Ennerdale that Patricia pulled up in her car and asked me if I would like to audition for ballet. I did not hesitate and hopped in. She took me to Martin Schonberg, the Ballet Theatre Afrikan (BTA) owner. I auditioned and made the grade," Ndlovu says.
Asked why he fell head-over-heels in love with an art not altogether popular in the black community, Ndlovu says ballet has fascinated him since he was a little boy.
"I always wanted to do something different from what all the boys were doing, like soccer and basketball. There aren't that many boys doing ballet either, so I decided to do ballet to show people that boys – black boys – can do ballet as well."
Scholarship
Not long after he started ballet classes, Ndlovu almost gave up because of financial constraints; but Schonberg offered his help and found him a scholarship. He became one of the BTA's most promising dancers in modern, jazz and classical ballet.
While at the BTA, Ndlovu performed in several ballets, including Don Quixote, in which he danced the part of Basilio, Swan Lake, The Nutcracker, and many more. He also won the National Society of Dance Teachers (NSDT) modern championships, among others.
At the end of 2007, Ndlovu resigned from the BTA "to do something new" and entered the SAIBC. He says the move "worked to his advantage".
"I entered in the classical and contemporary dance routines, where I tied with Thoriso Magongwa for first place. I was also lucky enough to attend a gala evening which was attended by the first lady, Zanele Mbeki, on the eve of the competition."
After the SAIBC, Ndlovu took part in KYKnet's reality show, Dans!, Dans!, Dans!, which was aired on the television station.
"I did not make it to the finals, but I was not disappointed with myself. In actual fact, participating in the show was an eye-opener for me. It gave me impetus to work even harder."
Role model
Ndlovu hopes that his talent, coupled with inspiration from his role models - the great Russian male ballet dancers Alexander Pushkin and Rudolph Nureyev - will take him to heights where he will be able to reposition ballet as one of South Africa's more popular art forms, a place it held last held about 10 years ago.
"I regret to say that there is not much support given to ballet in South Africa. There is gross lack of funding and attention given to the art and ballet dancers have been forced to move overseas, where they can make a decent living."
Ndlovu says there is plenty of talent in the country and more young people - especially from the black community - need to be introduced to the art. He says many young black people are "stereotyped" into believing ballet is an elitist and "white" art.
Something different
"I grew up playing soccer, but when I was nine years old I told myself I should do something different and, with the encouragement of my mother who is a former Latin American ballroom dancer, I was smart enough to pick ballet as one of my favourite sports."
Ndlovu says he cannot class himself as a professional dancer - yet - but he wants "to be a dancer not only of ballet, but a qualified one with a degree in all modern and classical dances. I also want to see more black people taking on ballet, because there is a lot of potential and talent out there waiting to be tapped."
Before jetting off to America, Ndlovu will dance in Coppelia in Cape Town, in April and May. After the show, he will shoot a documentary about his life with NBCNews, which will be flighted on the television station later this year.
Ndlovu concludes with a word of advice for all those who want to venture into ballet. The art is "very hard" and mentally and physically straining. "One has to start very young in order to gain technique, and it involves a lot of body work."
Source: City of Johannesburg
