SA dancers create a Hurricane

With passports in hand and dreams in motion, a group of young Jewish dancers from South Africa stepped onto the global stage, competing in the Global Dance Open in Birmingham in July.

After qualifying in the semi-finals in November 2024 in South Africa, where each dance had to come in the top two of every category and get a score of 75 and above, 11 dancers, nine of whom come from the same studio, rehearsed from morning to night for months to compete among more than 1 500 other finalists from around the globe from 16 to 21 July.

One of the standout performances was a dance to Eden Golan’s song Hurricane, performed by nine girls from Soul Dance Studio for their first international dance competition: Georgia Dave, 13; ⁠Kayla Taurog, 13; Georgia Schmulian, 11; ⁠Ashleigh Schmulian, 11; ⁠Cassie Nagle, 14; Tyla Civin, 11; Gemima Saven, 11; Micah Medalie, 13; and Kayla Medalie, 14.

“It was nerve-wracking stepping out on that stage, especially because it was my first time,” said Dave, “but it was worth it.”

Soul Dance Studio choreographer Paige Sundelson said that as soon as she heard Hurricane when it was released in 2024, she knew she had to create something to the song. “I looked at what happened on 7 October 2023, and I wanted to express our support for the hostages,” she said. “Dance is our way of expressing what we want to convey. That was what Hurricane was for all of us.”

“I feel the dance brought out my Jewish heritage,” said Dave.

“I liked dancing to Hurricane because when we danced, it felt like we had Israel in our hearts,” said Medalie. “When we danced, we felt connected, not only to each other, but to Israel.”

Dave’s older sister, Gabi, said that the Israeli dancers were amazed that a team from South Africa was dancing to their song. “It was surprising, especially for team Israel, to hear that a South African team was dancing to Hurricane,” said Gabi. When they heard the Hebrew part of the song at the end, their jaws dropped that a South African team, a country that has taken Israel to the International Court of Justice, had kept that part of the song in and danced to it.”

Team members were sitting next to some of the Israeli dancers when they won the Junior Hip Hop – Large Crew division, and they jumped up and celebrated with them, waving an Israeli flag.

“When they heard other people – not their parents and teachers – cheering for them, they were confused. We explained that we were Jewish, we loved Israel, and we just sent our love to them. They were taken aback by it,” said Gabi.

Similarly, once the Israeli team heard about the dance to Hurricane, all the dancers from Israel made sure that they came to watch, taking up three rows of the conference centre.

Said Gabi, who was sitting in the audience, “They were shocked that first of all, we were doing Hurricane and kept the Hebrew verse. Throughout the dance, you could hear a pin drop, and at the end, they were screaming and cheering.”

The dancers used a large piece of mesh as a prop for the majority of the dance, which filled the entire stage, with dancers going under it and creating movement within it.

“The mesh represents the storm, the loss, and feelings of being buried. The mesh represents our shared pain,” said Sundelson.

The team danced morning and night, and often throughout the weekend to make sure that the dance was the best that it could be.

“The competition was at a high level,” said Saven. “The classes were hard, but we held our own. We were amazing. There wasn’t one part of me that felt that we were below anyone.”

Hurricane ultimately scored 83% and came seventh. “It was more than a dance. It was about identity, resilience, being seen, and speaking out,” said Sundelson. “It wasn’t really about the score or how we placed, it was more about showing the world that we stand with each other, that we want to show that’s who we are, and that we’re not afraid of who we are.”