Crew on dance movement mission

The 021 Movement dance crew rehearse for their upcoming show, which will be held on Saturday November 17.

A hip hop crew is on a mission to create a dance movement by making it accessible to all those in underprivileged communities.

The group, called the 021 Movement, was founded by Kyle Stuurman and Altaaf Philander a year ago, but the pair has been dancing for more than 10 years.

This crew has already performed on national television and stages – having entered SA’s Got Talent, and reached the finals of the World of Dance South Africa contest at Gold Reef City in Johannesburg. On Friday October 26, they also performed on the breakfast show, Expresso.

Celeste Marinus, the crew’s spokesperson, said members of the group have extensive dance experience individually, and some have been formally trained in ballet and contemporary dance.

The members are between the ages of 18 and 35.

“We all know each other for a long time, and we have all danced with different crews previously. Now that we have come together, our mission is to create a dance movement and teach children from the various communities our members are from. So the idea is to have smaller groups in the various communities, and eventually bringing it all together,” Ms Marinus said.

The members are from Athlone, Kewtown, Manenberg, Valhalla Park and Bishop Lavis, and the idea is to have dance crews in each area.

“We want to grow dance in the communities where it is needed. We have so much talent in our communities, but parents cannot always afford to send their children to schools of performing arts. We are offering our training free of charge. We want to create happiness and give young people a platform for their talent. We, however, need the help of the municipality, because we don’t have venues to teach the children. At times, we practise in the street, or wherever we find a space. We are hoping to make use of community halls for our sessions,” Ms Marinus said.

For now, they are concentrating on putting together their first fundraising show, which will be held on Saturday November 17.

According to Ms Marinus, they were fortunate enough to get permission to use the premises of St Francis Children’s Home in Crawford as a venue for their rehearsals. They are also hosting paid dance workshops on Saturdays, to help them with expenses for their upcoming show.

Ms Marinus described their crew as a family – especially since their experience with World of Dance.

“When we left for Gold Reef City, we were a group of 13, and 10 of us have never been on a aeroplane before, and for some, it was their first time outside of Cape Town. That experience made us more like a family. We might not have won, but the experience was invaluable,” she said.

The show will take place at the auditorium of the Bellville campus of Cape Peninsula University of Technology (CPUT), on Saturday November 17, at 8pm. Tickets are R100 each. The dance workshops are R40 each.

For tickets to the show, contact Ms Marinus at 073 815 2267 or Mr Stuurman at 064 016 1849 or Mr Philander at 062 856 3762.