Get ready to be blown away by one of the
world’s biggest competition series because the complete cast of 12 untrained
local celebrities for the first season of M-Net’s big new reality show, Dancing With The Stars South Africa, has
been revealed.
M-Net confirmed today that popular actor
and model Eden Classens, comedian Ebenhaezer Dibakwane and South African
Netball player Vanes-Mari du Toit will be joining the nine other famous faces
on the dance floor of this exciting new series!
Classens, a model and popular actor, plays
the role of Justin in the hit Afrikaans soap Suidooster on kykNET. Born and bred in Johannesburg, Eden moved to
New York City to study Musical Theatre and Acting at the prestigious New York
Film Academy where he trained under acclaimed Broadway Casting Director VP
Boyle, before returning to local shores. He has done various short films,
played the lead role in the Afrikaans film Rowwe
Diamante and starred in the true-life drama film Reload. This heartthrob also recently had the opportunity to work
on the American film Revolt, with the
likes of Lee Pace and Berenice Mahone. “I am absolutely ecstatic to be a part
of this experience," Classens raves. "I’m excited by this challenge
and am here to dance my heart out and have fun!”
Next to grace the gleaming dance floor is
funny man Ebenhaezer Dibakwane, a South African comedian and actor who rose to
fame after winning the Newcomer Award at the Savanna Comic's Choice Awards in
2016. Dibakwane is best known for lighting up the local comedy scene, with his
highlights being opening for Dillan Oliphant, being part of the Stand Up 4 Comedy ensemble alongside Mo
Mathebe and Virgil Prins and being billed on the line up for Blacks Only and the Comedy Central
International Comedy Festival alongside Trevor Noah and other South African
household names. The talented comedian can also be seen on the theatre scene,
having acted in theatre productions such as Marat/Sade,
A Beautiful Thing, The Crucible, Horror Story and 24 Hours in the City. In the television space, he has featured in
the soapie Ashes to Ashes and was a
presenter on Walala Wasala, amongst
others. Most recently, he has been cast in the sitcom Thuli noThulanli. “These are exciting times for me! I can’t wait to
dance, baby - into people's homes, memories and hearts,” he revealed.
The final celebrity gearing up for all the
glitz is netball star Vanes-Mari Du Toit. She is a player on the South African
National Netball team and has an impressive 38 caps for South Africa under her
belt, playing in positions such as Goal Shooter, Goal Keeper and Goal Attack. In
October 2012, she travelled with the Proteas to Australia & New Zealand to
participate in the Quad Series tournament, where she became a household name
with an impressive performance against the Silver Ferns. She is thrilled about
her participation in the series, and can’t wait to get started: “I’m as excited
as a kid on Christmas morning to be a part of Dancing With The Stars SA! It’s going to be a tough challenge, but
I’m so ready to learn how to dance.” These days, du Toit spends her time as a
netball analyst, presenter and commentator on SuperSport, while also coaching
around the country. Late last year she married Matthew Proudfoot, assistant coach
for the Springboks.
Eden, Ebenhaezer and Vanes-Mari will be
vying for South Africa’s hearts and votes alongside their fellow famous faces
on the gleaming new dance floor. They are:
-Mzansi’s best TV presenter, former Our Perfect Wedding host, actress and DJ
Thembisa Mdoda, who clinched the coveted title of Best TV Presenter at the 2017
DStv Mzansi Viewers’ Choice Awards;
- Veteran South African actor Frank
Opperman, who turned a slow-witted but witty car mechanic called Ouboet into a
darling South African icon and created an array of unforgettable, colourful
characters throughout his illustrious career;
- Actress and performer, Juanita du
Plessis, best known for her theatre work and acting roles in movies such as Knysna, Somer Son, Die Pro, Willie Esterhuizen’s
Droomdag, Die Ontwaking and kykNET’s new movie, Hartsorg;
- Former Miss SA Liesl Laurie, who is a
presenter on popular radio station Jacaranda FM, and is the international brand
ambassador of L’Oreal - Vichy Laboratoires in SA, USA and Brazil;
- Wayde van Niekerk’s mother, Odessa
Swarts, who was lauded for lighting up the South African athletics world and
broke many sporting records - having competed provincially as a track-and-field
athlete in the late 1980s and early 1990s;
- Film and TV starlet Zola Nombona who won
the 2016 Golden Horn Award for best lead actress for her work in the movie Ingoma. Nombona is also well known for
her roles in several TV series such as Intersexions
Lockdown, iNumber iNumber, and Love
Lives Here;
-
Singer-songwriter Connell Cruise, who signed the biggest recording deal
in South African music history after being spotted by music legend L.A Reid;
- Former Bafana Bafana soccer star Delron
Buckley who played in the 1998 and 2002 World Cups and represented SA in the
2000 Sydney Olympic games;
-
Former Springbok Thando Manana, best known for being the third black South
African player to don a Springbok jersey. He now spends his time as a rugby
commentator, pundit and member of the infamous Room Dividers team on Metro FM.
Dancing
With The Stars SA, in which 12 untrained local
celebrities will put their best foot forward with the help of highly skilled
professional Latin and Ballroom dancers, will commence on M-Net channel 101 on February
4, 2018.
The series is produced for M-Net by Rapid
Blue and is sponsored by Lottostar.
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