Bio
Kabelo Mohlala is a South African dancer best known as one of the Top 16 contestants on the second season of the SABC1 reality competition So You Think You Can Dance, in 2010.
So You Think You Can Dance Q&A
City
Johannesburg
Profession
Second year Financial Management student at UNISA. He is also a professional dancer and hip hop choreographer and teacher.
Dance history
He started dancing at the age of nine but started having a love and passion for it in high school, when he started his first hip hop crew called 4Deep, where they would enter competitions. He branched out individually last year after a fall out between the group members, and came to Johannesburg to pursue his dream of dancing. Recently he danced at the FIFA World Cup in 2010.
Why should Kabelo be SA's favourite dancer?
He wants to inspire the people back at home in Pretoria and all street dancers that are not formally trained but have a love for dancing. He was not privileged enough to go to an art school, but still has made it thus far without training. He just loves what he does and is passionate about.
Favourite dance genre
He lives, breathes, eats hip hop. Dance is also a lifestyle for him. If he didn't find his love for hip hop dancing he would have been lost like most of his friends back at home.
Dance accolades/trophies/titles
He won Strictly Hip Hop in 2006
Exergize in 2007
Hip Hop International 2007 and recently Dance Las Vegas 2010
What would Kabelo do with the prize money?
First he would pay his mom's debt off because that debt contributed to his mother's inability to take him back to varsity this year. He would also invest some in a dance studio back home in Pretoria, because he had to move to Johannesburg because of the lack of studios back at home. He would also use some of the money to fix his car, as it has been giving him problems. He also would like to create monthly dance competition shows in cities like Johannesburg and Pretoria so that dancers can always be active. He has found that dancers can always be active because most dancers only wait for one big competition in a year to show their skills. His dance development hasn't progressed as much as he wanted.
What makes him stand out in the competition?
He'll be bringing in his hip hop technique as most people tend to think hat hip hop is just street dancing with no technique and foundation and yet it has different genres such as break dancing, popping and locking, krumping, jerking. He wants people to see it in a different light and not to undermine it. He wants hip hop to have the same respect as contemporary or ballet.
Family background
He grew up in Pretoria and lived in Arcadia for ten years with his mother and brother. He decided to move to Johannesburg to pursue his dreams of being a dancer. So he decided to dance for this year instead of just sitting at home doing nothing. He believes it's the perfect year for him to do it.
Audition process
He auditioned in Johannesburg and was very late for his audition due to his car running out of petrol. He managed to literally push his car to a garage. He managed to audition and go straight through to the callback round.
Profession if not dancing
Studying and finishing his degree in Financial Management
Impression of the South African dance scene
Contemporary, ballet or people who are formally trained. He thinks that their industry is still growing, because if you want to dance professionally you have to move to Johannesburg, that is where the jobs are. There are too many dancers.
What would winning So You Think You Can Dance mean to Kabelo?
It would mean the world to him and a new stepping stone in his life. It would prove to him that he can actually take dancing seriously and show his friends and family that dancing is not just a hobby or a part time thing you do, but a lifestyle.
Inspiration
Jehovah, God and his mother. He has never had the privilege of having a mentor, but just himself and putting his faith and belief in the Lord. As a dancer, everything inspires him from the odd guy in the street corner dancing for his few cents, to the big artist we see everyday on TV.
Challenges faced
Moving to Johannesburg all alone with no family there, but just a dream of becoming the best dancer and choreographer in SA. He recently came back to Johannesburg and has been here for the past six months. After he got his car stolen last August, he moved back home after two months, because he couldn't move around with cabs and they were expensive. That was the worst period of his life. His love and passion never let him gave up.
What makes him happy
Being in the studio and dancing or having sessions with his boys. He would rather be in the studio dancing 18 hours straight than go to a party or to a 9 to 5 job.
Message for potential fans
Always pursue what you love and what you want in life. Life is too short for you to compromise on yourself. We only have one life so, lets live.
South African charity close to his heart
He believes that while big charities often are doing excellent work, the smaller charities often do far more valuable work, but these small charities have little chance of being noticed. Like the Good Hope Community in Pretoria and their main focus is caring for orphaned children and also provide help to impoverished people in the community, who have HIV\AIDS.