A St Montague Village dancer wants to help young people to showcase their talent.
Natalia Maliqua staged a show called Now I am free at the Retreat United Reformed Church on Saturday August 18 with dancers from Lavender Hill.
Natalia, 19, matriculated in 2016 and graduated from a dance course at Communivarsity in Vrygrond.
She said she had always wondered how she could give back to others and decided to start working on change in her own community.
“I’ve been dancing since the age of 6 and was fortunate enough to have dance teachers who helped me
grow and develop my talent,” she said.
Natalia said she started the Ministering through Dance project in January last year.
She teaches primary school children in Lavender Hill dance as part of their after-school programme on a voluntary basis.
Ms Maliqua said the past year and seven months have been a memorable experience. “There have been days of heartache, disappointment, lack of support and betrayal but
love has conquered all and left me with days where I danced with the kids as if it were my last, laughed until my stomach hurt and experienced the true meaning of perseverance. My prayer is that these kids will become the stars that they are dreaming to become and
more people will take up the challenge in passionately fulfilling a purpose.”
Natalia said the children have great talent but do not have the platform to showcase it.
“My aim is to get organisations and cultural groups from the community to be a part of this production and invest in the kids who have decided to be a part of this change. Our community is infested with violence and it’s affecting our children. Let’s all stand together in supporting them in doing good,” she said.