A group of Cape Town dancers are floating on cloud nine after clinching the top position at theHip Hop Unite World Championships.
The team from the Diversify Dance Studio in Plumstead represented South Africa at the dance competition after earning their Protea colours earlier this year.
The dancers won first place at the local competition which guaranteed a qualifying spot at the championships held in Portugal at the end of last month.
After dancing their hearts out, the Sublime senior team consisting of Terri Le Roux, Simonè Hepburn, Jacinta Richards, Chantal McClure, Jo Boswell and Courtney Allison were placed first, while the Double Threat duo 12-year-old Chloe Mills and Khloe Jackson were placed second in their respective categories.
Coach Corinne de Beer said they were overjoyed with the entire team’s performance.
“After several years of entering the World Championships and just missing the top spots, all I can say is I am very proud.
“Our teams always achieve outstanding results. Last year my senior team came third in the world. This year I entered my senior dance team and one of my duos, we knew if we worked hard enough, we could achieve that gold.
“We left prepared and came home with the world championship title in the senior category, along with second place for the duo in the cadet category,” she said.
De Beer said the secret to coaching a winning team is finding ways “to get the best out of the dancers”.
“The dancers were expected to never miss a rehearsal, treat their rehearsal time like gold and go home and practise outside of the hours,” she said.
“They were expected to remain focused, positive and humble, ready to take the opportunity and run, despite anything you may be dealing with outside the rehearsal room. That’s the great thing about dance, you can take your mind off what may be going on and focus on the task at hand,” she said.
De Beer said they faced stiff competition.
“Belgium and Denmark gave us a run for our first and second spots.
“Seeing them walk up to their podiums holding the South African flag proudly was priceless. I am so proud of all the hard work they put in,” she said.
Members of the Sublime team told Weekend Argus they never imagined dancing at world champs.
Simonè Hepburn said “We dance because of the love we have for it, so we hope that our journey inspires others to never stop doing what they love,” she said.
Hepburn said dance has not only opened doors on the international stage, it has became a source of inspiration from their coaches to keep working hard.
“These people play a huge role in our lives. Our own life experiences and challenges have also inspired us to do better and want more for ourselves.
“There were also challenges of raising funds for team members who needed it, but as they called out our teams name, that challenge faded,” she said.
Hepburn said their proudest moment was when they got to sing the national anthem.
She added that the team was ready for rehearsals to work on their new routine as the defending champions at next year’s competition.
“We are ready to do SA proud again, we will also have some fundraising ahead of many exciting projects and comps coming up in the new year,” she concluded.
The team’s Jackson and Mills both said the experience hadn’t sunk in yet .
Jackson said they came second in the world, her heart skipped many beats.
“I was happy because I never thought in my wildest dreams we would get podium,” she added.
Jackson’s mom, Jill, said it was a moment she will not forget.
“The feeling is just unreal,” she said.
Mills’ mother, Francesca, said she was ecstatic, especially knowing that all their hard work had paid off.