Joshua Williams first made his way into the world of dance after his moves in a post office at just six years old led him on a path to a scholarship in Switzerland. After the pandemic cut his dream short, Joshua has been given another dancing chance overseas—a testament of his talent!
Cape Town, South Africa (03 May 2024) — When Joshua Williams was just six years old, his budding dancing talents were already evident. It was in a post office where he got his first ‘dancing chance’, after his moves in the queue while he waited with his mom, caught the attention of Dance Empire’s Tamsin Williams.
Tamsin was blown away by the youngster, and told Joshua’s mother that he absolutely had to go for dance lessons. Despite his mother not being able to afford formal dance fees, Joshua’s talent was too apparent to ignore, and so he got to dance at Jenny Beck and Tamsin’s Dance studio for 7 years, while being trained in ballet for free as well.
By the time he was a teenager, Joshua was entered into the South African International Ballet Competition. The young dancer went on to land a full scholarship to train in Switzerland, and got to experience a taste of his wildest dreams—dancing on the cusp of becoming a professional dancer!
His scholarship would allow him to train at the Tanz Akademi Zurich for four years—something he describes as ‘one of the most life changing experiences’ of his life. However, due to COVID, Joshua’s time there was tragically cut short, as were his chances of getting he job he had lined up as Jenny Beck tells Good Things Guy.
Returning home, Joshua didn’t give up on dancing and spent his time back home working with Mzansi Ballet. You might’ve even seen Joshua in productions like The Golden Rhino of Mapungubwe or the Abba Show a Cinderella story!
Despite his gratitude in being able to perform locally, Joshua’s incomplete dancing chance overseas still played on his mind. Which is why when he recently got the chance to further his training in Europe with an offer to join the Delattre Dance Company in Germany, he knew he couldn’t miss out!
“When Josh started dancing with us at our studio, we knew he was a ‘once in a lifetime’ kind of taent. We knew that we had to nurture a love of Dance in him and that it would open many doors to a life he could only dream of. Now it’s actually happening for him, he just needs a little help from us to get there.”—Jenny Beck.
The opportunity to train overseas would offer Joshua a world of experience and hopefully, a job prospectus that he might not have at home. However, the cost of getting to Germany is another story—one Joshua and his family hope fellow dreamers and dancers might be able to help him with.
His total fundraising goal is R35 000 which would cover flights visas and enough to help him settle in. As Jenny Beck shares:
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“He really is so deserving and the most exceptional human and performer.”
You can support Joshua’s dancing chance here!
Sources: GTG Interview—Jenny Beck; BackaBuddy
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