Sandile Mbili meets a professional dance choreographer striving to help youth through his talent.
Growing up in the township of Dassenhoek did not stop Bonga Hlongwane from pursuing his dream of becoming a recognised dancer in South Africa. Raised by his grandmother, the only breadwinner of the family, Bonga would dance to express his emotions from the early age of seven – which was when he discovered his passion after being encouraged by his uncle, who led a dance crew in his community.
“I would peep through the windows just to see them rehearsing, and later practice what I had observed,” says Bonga. “I started dreaming of having my own dance studio, where I could also use my gift as a tool to help teach others.”
After Bonga matriculated at Ndengetho High School, he formed a dance crew called Angel Players, and they soon started joining competitions to gain exposure.
Because of his yearning to use his talent in making a difference in the community, Bonga was introduced to Collin Edmonds and his non-profit organisation, Trulife. In 2016 Bonga was offered an intern position at Trulife, and he went on to become a life skills facilitator touring schools throughout South Africa. In 2018 he enrolled in a three-year dance instructor course in Cape Town.
Bonga has received numerous trophies in his dancing career, and has won the South Africa Championship twice. Through dancing, he has been lucky to travel to Mozambique and as far as China.
Describing himself as a versatile dancer, Bonga teaches ethnic dance such as amapiano, Afro-pop and pansula, but mostly he likes to specialise in hip-hop.
Trulife Dance was established in 2021, with a vision of teaching and using dance as a tool to keep youth off the streets. Based at the Open Skies church in Kloof, Trulife Dance – through Bonga and other talented dance instructors – offers lessons on Mondays and Wednesdays for ages 5-18 at only R400 per month.
“We give back to the underprivileged youth, because each dancer signing up for lessons automatically sponsors a disadvantaged dancer in the community of Dassenhoek,” explains Bonga. “Every Tuesday and Thursday we go to the Dassenhoek community to teach youth dancing and life skills. We also host an annual show to give them a platform to showcase their dancing skills and everything that they have learned throughout the whole year.”
The inspiring 32-year-old, who is currently studying online business management and administration at Varsity College, hopes that our community will continue to support Trulife Dance and their wonderful initiative and vision.
Enroll your children for next year now, to give them the opportunity to build self-confidence and dance skills in a fun, encouraging environment.
FOR MORE INFO:
- dance@truelife.org.za
- info@truelife.org.za
- 074 423 8166