South African Tap Dancers Shine on the World Stage in Prague

Photo Credit: Supplied

South Africa celebrates a first at the World Tap Dance Championships as Madeline and Luke Scrase, along with Madison Versfeld, earn podium finishes and rewrite the nation’s tap dance story.

Czechia, Prague (30 October 2025) – South African tap dancers have made history at the prestigious IDO World Tap Dance Championships in Prague. South Africa sent a team of 10 dancers to this year’s championships under the South African Body of Dance (SABOD) and the Federation of Dance Sport South Africa, both of which provide local dancers with pathways to compete at an international level through the International Dance Organisation (IDO).

Siblings Madeline and Luke Scrase, along with Madison Versfeld, represented South Africa at this year’s competition, which brought together more than 1,700 dancers from 21 countries.

Madeline clinched bronze in the Adult Female Solo category, earning her the title of Second Vice World Champion, while Madison and Luke dominated the men’s division, taking silver and bronze respectively. This is the first time ever that South Africa had two tap dancers reach the solo finals and land on the podium.

The excitement did not stop there. The Scrase siblings also teamed up for the Adult Duo category, finishing sixth out of 37 pairs, marking the first South African duo to make the finals in 14 years.

Adding to the list of achievements, Madison capped off an incredible run by winning the Battle of the Feet, a high-energy freestyle showdown where dancers improvise live to music selected by the judges. His victory marked yet another first. No South African had ever won the contest before.

In total, four South African performances reached the finals:

Madeline & Luke Scrase – 6th in Adult Duets
Madeline Scrase – 3rd in Adult Female Solos
Luke Scrase – 3rd in Adult Male Solos
Madison Versfeld – 2nd in Adult Male Solos

All three dancers have a shared history, growing up on Gauteng’s East Rand and training together for years. Madeline and Luke hail from Benoni, while Madison is from Kempton Park. They began their journey at Steps School of Dance before honing their craft with Dance2Express. Today, Madeline is also a qualified dance teacher and choreographer, while Madison dances with Red Robynne Studios in Bedfordview, run by his sister, former world champion Robynne Esterhuyzen.