e.tv has announced a judging panel of three for the channel's upcoming new dance crew reality show
Step Up or Step Out.
On the panel are: controversial kwaito musician, dancer and producer Arthur Mafokate, hip hop musician, dancer and teacher Emile Jansen; and dancer and choreographer Penelope Thloloe.
Produced by reality specialists Endemol (producers of
Big Brother), the series is searching for Mzansi's best dance crew. The show will follow the exploits of eight dance crews as they dance to impress to avoid elimination.
Auditions begin in Johannesburg this weekend (2 and 3 April), move to Cape Town the weekend after and wrap in Durban the following weekend (16 and 17 April).
The show debuts on e.tv on Sunday, 8 May 2011 at 18h05 and will be hosted by reality stalwart, singer and TV presenter
Dalen Lance.
Dalen, who first claimed fame as a presenter on SABC2's kid's show Bling!, was a Top 50 finalist in the first season of
Idols in 2002. The following year he made the Top 50 of
Popstars 2.
In 2006 he released his debut album and was the presenter of M-Net's reality series
High School Musical, which exploded in a
frenzy of scandal before it disappeared. Most recently he was the face of ABSA's "Kweeka" advertising campaign.
Here's more about each of the judges:
Arthur Mafokate
Dubbed the King Of Kwaito, Arthur Mafokate has been in music industry since the late 1980's.
He was at the helm of the Kwaito phenomenon that rose to popularity in the music industry in the 1990's and is known as one of the initiators of the genre.
Arthur began his career as a dancer, winning various dancing competitions including the Shell Road to Fame and the Town Talk Pantsula Dance Competition.
He made waves in the music industry when he launched the controversial hit song, Kaffir in mid-1995. While the song was banned by some radio stations, it sold 150 000 copies.
A year later, he released various singles including Oyi Oyi, Die Poppe Sal Dans, Hayi Wena, Koti Koti and Yu Make Me Go Mmmm. In 1998 he won a SAMA award for Song Of The Year for Oyi Oyi.
In 1992 he started producing Kwaito artists under his label 999. Musicians who've worked with the label include Speedy, Mandoza, Trompie, Lira, Jeff Maluleke, Brenda Fassie, Ishmael, Chomee, Lebo and HHP.
He also has a Mr Soweto title under his belt and was a Mr South Africa runner-up. In 2005 he was a judge on e.tv's Backstage EMI Superstar Search.
Emile Jansen
Emile Jansen (also known as Emile YX, B-boy, War-lock or A-Free-Can I) has been involved in the Hip Hop movement since 1982.
Hailing from the Cape Flats in Cape Town, Emile was one of the founding members of legendary South African Hip Hop group Black Noise in 1988.
He's released several hip hop albums and has performed internationally. In 1997 he won third place at the Battle Of The Year in Germany.
Emile is also a qualified teacher, an MC and graffiti artist and has authored the book My Hip Hop is African and Proud.
His personal pledge: to make a significant contribution to society and the community. He's involved in various community projects including Heal The Hood and Project Breaking, which involves speaking out about racism and xenophobia.
Penelope Thloloe
Penelope Thloloe is a choreographer and professional ballet, modern and Spanish dancer. In 2005 she started the Kasi Ballet Theatre, a professional dance company that also offers dance classes.
Penelope has been a professional dancer and choreographer for 10 years and has choreographed various pieces internationally, including pieces for the London-based Rembart School of Dance and the DanceCor Choreographic Workshops.
She has a close connection to the Alexandra community in Johannesburg as both her parents are involved in teaching in the area. Her vow: to focus her skills on the community - she's recruited 250 learners from Alexandra to be trained by her.
She is one of only 10 professional dancers from Ballet Theatre Afrikan Dance Academy to be taught in the Cecchetti Method, a dance method which has a strict training system with special concern for anatomy within the confines of classical ballet technique.
For the audition details, including the venues in each city, please see:
Got a dance crew? Step Up or Step Out!