Meet Nelisa Skhosana
Nelisa Imani Skhosana is a 9-year-old girl who is in grade 3.
She is a naturally talented Acro dancer and is a student at The Dance Platform: School of Acrobatics.
Acro dance is a dance style that combines elements of acrobatics and floor gymnastics.
Nelisa formerly started acro dance in 2019, when she was 6 years old. Prior to her joining the school of acrobatics, Nelisa would watch YouTube videos of acro dancers on her mom’s phone, and she would practise the tricks until she got them right.
Nelisa at age 4, before joining the school of acrobatics
Nelisa joined the school of acrobatics in August 2019. Three months later, in November, she won her first gold medal, and the school awarded her the “Best Acrobat of the year in Level 1” award.
Her dance teacher, Shalane (Shaz) Allwright was very quick to recognise Nelisa’s raw talent and made her skip level 2 and promoted her to level 3, just 3 months after joining the dance school and while she was just in Grade R.
Nelisa has an incredibly flexible body with amazing upper body strength. Her dance technique has continued to grow over the years. She has received several other awards, including “Best Hand Balancer of the Year 2021”.
In August 2022, Nelisa qualified for the national championships hosted by the South African Championships of Performing Arts in Rustenburg. With her KwaZulu Natal colours, Nelisa delivered five performances in total; two solo performances, one quartet performance, and two group performances, for which she received five medals (three gold and two silver) as follows:
One gold medal for first solo performance.
One silver medal for second solo performance
One silver medal for the quartet performance
Two gold medals for two group performances.
With these results, Nelisa has qualified for the world championships, which will take place in Los Angeles, California in 2023 and will be hosted by the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA). She will be representing South Africa in the acro dance category, age 8 to 10.
