Tafelsig’s Kyle Grant, 15, went from playing the lead role in his Grade R graduation play to performing on stage at the Baxter Dance Festival.
This, he said, is only the start of bigger plans he has in mind for himself.
A Grade 9 pupil at Alexander Sinton High School in Athlone, Kyle was inspired by the Swan Lake and Nutcracker productions, which led to him choreographing his own pieces at various school plays.
Two years ago, his friend introduced him to Dance for All in Athlone.
Kyle said joining the dance school was the best move he could have made, as it took his dancing skills to the next level. And it was through Dance for All, that he made his debut at the Artscape Arena.
“I performed at the Dance for All annual show at the Artscape. It was an amazing feeling to be up on that stage, and I did a ballet piece with the senior group,” said Kyle.
“Last year, I performed there again and also got the opportunity to choreograph at the Baxter Dance Festival.
“In October, I featured again at the Baxter and choreographed my own piece at the festival,” he said.
Kyle wrote his name into the archives as the youngest person to choreograph a piece at the Baxter Dance Festival, which has been around for 12 years.
Earlier this year, he also performed with his schoolmates at the High School Jam held at the GrandWest Grand Arena, and they finished in fourth place.
Kyle said the dance bug bit him at his Grade R graduation, where he was given the role of one of the main characters in the play. The following year, he attended the Regina Coeli Primary School in Athlone, where he got his first taste of ballet and eventually took up dance as a subject.
“Our graduation play was in December and it was about the Christmas story.
“Then, in Grade 1 up to Grade 3 we did some dance routines as part of our physical education classes,” said Kyle.
“It was in Grade 4 when we were able to take up dance as a subject, and that’s where I learnt the basics doing your tendus and all your classical ballet moves.
“I finished second in the class that year, and was top of the class for the rest of my time at the primary school,” he said.
The young dancer said his good marks earned him the lead act in the school’s first-ever production, held at the Joseph Stone Auditorium.
“I played the role of a character called Ben who was a drug addict but a very talented dancer who turned his life around.
“Ben travelled the world through dance, and that’s exactly what I’d like to do one day,” said Kyle.
“I’d like to travel to America and attend the different dance academies.
“I’d also like to go to London because that’s where ballet is really big.
“My plan for when I’m done with school is to further my studies in dance then travel the world. Eventually, I’d like to come back to Mitchell’s Plain and start up a ballet school,” he said.