Dancer makes cut for New York dance programme

A young dancer from Pinati Estate crushed her audition for a spot at the internationally renowned Alvin Ailey Dance Theatre in New York.

- HAZEL ALLIES-HUSSELMAN

Jesse Bredenkamp, 20, and her family are over the moon for this "once-in-a-lifetime" opportunity, which will see her do a five-week intensive training programme.

The only thing standing in her way of fulfilling this dream is raising enough funds for the R75 000 she needs.

Jesse started her dance journey at the Eoan Group of School of Performing Arts as a 9-year-old.

"My family were all surprised when I told them I wanted to dance. None of them are dancers. My mom enrolled my sister and I for gymnastics and two years later, I just randomly decided I wanted to dance. My family couldn’t understand where it came from.

"I started with modern dance and hip hop, and by the age of 10, I did modern dance, hip hop and ballet. From there, I developed a full-on dance schedule, where I practised six days a week.