A young adult category dance crew who has only been training together for six months but already won top spots regionally and nationally need some help to get to Portugal to perform on the world stage.
The Eclipse Dance Crew choreographed by Ezio Miller (26) consists of five dancers – Cassidy Bennett (21), Bryan Hendricks (19), Kamara Naidu (23), Riché Koopman (21) and Danica Laubscher (18).
Miller from Northpine is the head coach at Bona Fide Dance Studio in Brackenfell. He has been dancing for 18 years and choreographing for seven years. Besides dealing with the music and choreography for the crew he also creates posters for any events, workshops or fundraisers.
Cassidy Bennett, also from Northpine, recently completed an IT Systems Developments course. She has been dancing for 14 years.
Bryan Hendricks from Kuils River has been dancing for two years. He is studying drone piloting.
Kamara Naidu, also from Kuils River, is studying Industrial Psychology at Stellenbosch University. She has been dancing for 10 years.
Riché Koopman, originally from Saron, has been dancing for 12 years. She is a part-time actress and dancer currently studying at AFDA Film School.
Danica Laubscher from Bellville has been dancing for two years. She is completing high school doing a General Equivalency Diploma (GED) online.
Representing SA
Bennett says Eclipse was only formed in March this year.
In June they took part in the Adult 17+ category at the Hip Hop Unite regional competition. They took gold and were rewarded with Western Province colours.
“This was our first time competing together,” Bennett says.
After this they had three weeks to prepare for the nationals, but again came out on top – winning gold and qualifying for the Hip Hop Unite World Finals.
The finals is taking place in Óbidos, Portugal, from 27 to 29 October. The crew will fly out on 23 October.
It will be a dream come true for the group of passionate dancers to obtain their national colours and represent South Africa on the world stage, but they need some help to reach this goal.
“We have hosted raffles and fundraisers to achieve our dream. However, payment due dates are sooner than expected. We are asking for help in any possible way,” says Bennett.
Bona Fide Dance Studio has raffles running on a weekly basis to assist fundraising efforts. Visit their Facebook page or Instagram (Bonafidedance) for details.
The crew is also available for bookings.
Contact cassidyjadebennett@gmail.com and cc: bonafideds@gmail.com if you want to assist or make a booking.
