Own Reflexion Dance Crew to represent South Africa at the Dancestar World Finals in Croatia in 2016

We have been selected by a Panel of International & South African judges to take part in the DanceStar World Dance Masters during May 2016 in Croatia.

We have placed first and won best crew in our category when we competed at the SA Cape Town qualifiers on the 3^rd of October 2015. Not only have we won first place for best crew in our category, we also won one of the four special awards for best choreography.

We as dancers from Own Reflexion Dance Crew are expected to represent South Africa at the Dancestar World Dance Masters Finals in Croatia next year from 23 to 29 May 2016. We are a total of 12 dancers that will be heading to Croatia.

As with most sporting disciplines, it is vital to secure sponsorship for dancers who will be representing South Africa as the costs of competing are too high for most competitors.

Our dance crew have been in existence for more than 10 years and we give youngsters the opportunity to come and dance for the crew as they come from poverty stricken backgrounds & single parents and some of them don’t even have role models to guide them. Most of our dancers can’t afford to attend a dance school due to financial reasons. We see youngsters that have potential and grow them as dancers. Also, we have days where we practice at a church hall for a fee (that we fund out of our own pockets on a monthly basis) and other days we rehearse literally in the streets. Some of our dancers walk far from where they stay to where we rehearse as they don’t have transport money. We do a lot of community based charity events whereby we go do performances for free just to give our dancers a platform to showcase their talents to our communities. It is our dream to dance on a world stage and bring our experience back home and teach our youth. Your sponsorship would really influence our dancing careers.

We cannot overemphasize the level of talent and commitment required to qualify for this international competition. Despite this, the dancers who qualify face uncertainty about our place in the team due to financial constraints. We are practicing 5-6 days a week. We are a very committed group of dancers from the Cape Flats area in Cape Town.

While we are indeed representing the country we have to fund our excursion ourselves. However, Dance Star has sponsored us with a R36 000 for the group towards our trip as we were awarded one of the four special awards for Best Choreography out of 153 other entrees at the Cape Town qualifiers.

We are proud to represent our country and are a testament to the positive and powerful impacts that sport/dance can have on our youth.

The dancers would like to appeal to companies to support them in their efforts to raise funds. Each dancer needs an estimated R30 000 or €2000.

We will welcome all financial support, items of value that could be raffled or gifts vouchers that could be used as prizes at our fundraising events that we are planning to host.

Your generosity would go a long way to ensure that all those that have qualified for this prestigious event are able to compete. Your sponsorship will allow us take our rightful place on the international stage next year and would be greatly appreciated.