Dancing is one of few sports where you get to “play” with your partner. It’s said to be the third most practised sport (behind soccer and boxing) in South Africa, and anyone can learn to do it.
Photo: Alain and Mellony show the grace and drama of dance. Story by Andrea Abbott
“You don’t have to start when you’re young,” says top Latin American and ballroom dance instructor, Alain Rijnvis, who, with his wife, Mellony – also an accomplished dancer – has opened the Dance2Dance International (D2Di) studio in Kloof.
Alain proves that age doesn’t matter. He was 22 when he started dancing. “My mother took classes with Dudley Andrews,” he says. Intrigued when she brought home trophies, Alain decided to see what it was about. He signed up and within five minutes had learnt a jive. “I was hooked,” he says.
Alain moved up the ranks to compete in a number of international championships, one being the Blackpool Dance Sport festival in England. “It’s the most prestigious of all dance events and draws thousands of competitors,” says Mellony. It can take a decade for dancers to build a reputation at Blackpool. Alain was noticed in his first year.
Returning home, he opened a dance studio in Pinetown, where he met Mell who, in contrast to Alain, began dancing at the age of three.
takes private lessons with Alain
Alain and Mell have literally danced their way round the world, working on some of the most luxurious ocean liners. “For two years, we were the featured couple on the Queen Mary, dancing, instructing, and hosting ball evenings,” says Alain.
Mell adds that a lot of guests take cruises purely for the dancing. “During our two year spell, many passengers booked subsequent cruises just for the opportunity of taking more lessons with Alain.”
Others who consider him the world’s finest teacher are the famous Bollywood family, the Kapoors, who have appointed Alain as their personal dance trainer, and fly out to South Africa for private lessons with him. And in London, where Alain and Mell worked for a while, students offered to buy the studio of legendary ballroom dancer, Donnie Burns (MBE), just to keep Alain there.
But the pull of home triumphed. “There is nowhere like South Africa,” says Mell. “We identified a huge need here. The dance industry was dying, professionals leaving to compete overseas.” And so they returned with a mission – to build up dance to an international level, offering instruction in a world-class studio where competitive dancers can train to be champions.
“With drive, commitment and good support, anyone can make it to the top and have a career in dancing,” Mell says. Alain adds that ballroom and Latin are based on the body’s natural moves. “So it’s mostly about the mind getting the information on how to do the movements.”
Everton in a practice session
with Alain.
One of the couple’s goals is to take some of their up-and-coming young students to Blackpool. “Currently, we have eight very promising couples training with us.”
But D2Di is not only about Alain and Mell. “We have teachers of other dance styles,” Alain says. Among them are top contemporary dancer, Casey Swales, break-dancer Preston Krazykaso, and hip hop dancer, Danny Guiselli.
D2Di is also not only about professional dancing. “The biggest part is the social side,” says Mell. And it’s in those classes – beginner and intermediate – where the laughter happens, couples reconnect, friends gather to try out something new, new best friends are made, marriages are born, and where people without partners also get to dance, as there is always Alain or a helper on hand.
“People from all walks of life come to our classes,” Mell says. “The dance floor is a great leveller.”
D2Di studio can be located in the Kloof Village Mall.
For more information, contact them on 074 124 0171 or visit www.d2di.com.