In celebration of its 25th anniversary, Rejoice Dance School will host a production next week in the Paarl Town Hall.
Jo-Anne Huizies, who manages the dance school, said it is an honour to have reach this milestone. She said the dance school started as a dance group of Koinonia Community Centre, the same youth organisation from which Radio KC was born from.
“That time it was still a dance group where we danced at events of Koinonia, beach outreaches and churches to spread the word of God. People who played a role at this time was Ethne Truter, the leader of the dance group. In 1998 I took over and started to draft a three-month dance course for church dance teams in the community to equip them in the ministry of dance. I then changed the name to Rejoice Dance School. Through these courses we also participated in exams where we were invigilated by outside examiners and received a diploma on completion. Many dance schools that exist today took courses from Rejoice Dance School. Rejoice became a pioneer and enabler in the field of dance ministry in the Drakenstein area.”
In 2005 Huizies and her family relocated to Johannesburg from Paarl. She continued to operate the dance school from her new location and expanded the school to Johannesburg, where she offered dance as a subject at a few schools.
“Rejoice held a very successful dance production in the Roodepoort Theatre in 2011, with more than 90 students participating. In 2012 my family and I moved back to Paarl and dance classes continued. Classes take place at the Bethel church and Andrew Murray Centre in Wellington.”
Rejoice offers Christian modern dance and has had many successes as a dance school. This includes receiving gold at the annual Paarl Valley Eisteddfod, presenting a dance workshop in Mossel Bay with approximately 100 students and Huizies being acknowledged for her contribution in the art and recreation community in the Cape Winelands.
Throughout the years Rejoice made a huge impact in the lives of many young girls. Huizies says every time a new dancer joins the school she sees her younger self in the little girl who is shy and an introvert. However, after a few months she witnesses how they gain self-confidence and stand up for themselves.
“They stand out as young girls,” she sayd. “This is what our society needs, strong women who stand out. I feel proud of the 500-plus young ladies who have come through Rejoice. Today, some of them are lawyers, doctors, teachers and so on. Dance is really therapeutic. It can heal the broken-hearted.”
According to Huizies the covid pandemic placed many dance schools under pressure, and many of them have not recovered fully from the impact. That is why she wishes to focus more on the ministry of dance in the church and in the community for the next 25 years. This also includes programmes focusing on mothers and daughters, camps and women-orientated classes.
The celebratory production Grace upon grace takes place on 26 September at the Paarl Town Hall and starts at 18:00. For more details contact Jo-Anne Huizies on 072 643 6845.
