M-Net on Dancing with the Stars SA: No confirmation of a 2nd season yet, says 1st season was 'crazy, chaotic, fun, scary, but so rewarding' - and brought the magic back for us.

M-Net (DStv 101) says it can't as yet confirm that there will be a second season of Dancing with the Stars South Africa but the pay-TV broadcaster's head of local content described the just-concluded first season of the BBC's glitter floor dance format's revival on M-Net, produced by Rapid Blue, as "a mixed bag" that was "crazy, chaotic, fun and scary but most of all rewarding" - and a show that "brought the magic back for us".

This past Sunday night, Kaye-Ann Williams, the head of local content and independent films for M-Net channels; Kee-Leen Irvine, managing director and executive producer at Rapid Blue; and winning dance pair Connell Cruise and Marcella Solimeo did a Q&A with the media at a press conference immediately after the conclusion of the live broadcast of the Dancing with the Stars SA first season finale on M-Net.

TVwithThinus asked Kaye-Ann Williams whether M-Net will be doing a second season and if so, when it will be scheduled.

"I can't confirm a second season just yet, we will go through a process and then make a decision after that," said Kaye-Ann Williams, the head of local content and independent films for M-Net channels at the press conference.

"With regard to the first season of Dancing with the Stars SA I think we started discussing this mid last year, and Jan du Plessis, M-Net channels director is such a fan of Strictly Come Dancing UK and so is Yolisa Phahle, CEO for general entertainment at MultiChoice, and so am I, that just, you know, the dream of being able to do this seemed quite big."

"So when we started our discussions we knew that doing this would be dependent on various 'ingredients' - the right judges, the right celebs, the right professional dancers, producers and all hands on deck."

"So this past season has been a mixed bag for us. It has been crazy, it has been chaotic, it has been fun and it has been scary. But most of all it has been so rewarding. Because in its entirety - from the cast and crew to the dancers and the pro dancers - everyone had been 100% committed."

"We are extremely proud of what has been accomplished by this entire group. From episode to episode you watch it, you analyse it, you ask 'what can we do better?', 'how can we raise it?', 'how can we raise the bar?' We constantly asked ourselves that and challenged each other to do that."

"So it was very robust as well in terms of raising the bar, so I feel, just as a brand exercise for M-Net, it brought the magic back for us," said Kaye-Ann Williams.

"For me it was one of our wildest dreams come true and we are extremely, extremely proud of what this entire production and this entire team has accomplished."

"Also the type of leadership that Kee-Leen Irvine has provided to this production - she is an executive producer of note. Uncomparable. And I'm so proud to work with Kee-Leen - you have been so committed and absolutely collaborative, and such a joy to work with and I am so proud of what you have accomplished and it's because you've steered the ship this way."

Kee-Leen Irvine said "there's certainly an appetite - South African viewers love local versions of international formats and their shiny floor shows so we do them well, I think, especially when we have the support of a client like M-Net".

"So we will always continue to do those, alongside the original local programming that Rapid Blue also does."

"This really, really has been the highlight of my producing life and I think all of the cast as well. We've learnt so much. And a lot of that learning has come from Jason Gilkison - he stretched us."

"I've had the most supportive client in M-Net that I've had in my entire life, and I'm going to get tearful, but from Yolisa Phahle to Jan du Plessis, and Kaye-Ann Williams and Terja Beney (commissioning editor), what you can do as a producer with the right client behind you, and the right team alongside you, it's just been phenomenal," said Kee-Leen Irvine.

"As a production company, every single person has walked away enriched on a number of levels through being involved with this show".

Choreographer and judge on the Jason Gilkison who also served as Dancing with the Stars SA's creative director, at the press conference said "it was an absolute joy to be here".

"The team that was assembled by M-Net and Rapid Blue were just so incredible to work with. And no matter what I said as creative director, there was never a question of 'there's no way we can do that".

"Everybody just threw all 100% of themselves into this. And it was a beautiful situation to be in as a creative director because suddenly every week we were all doing stuff we were so proud of. And it was just a lovely experience for me," said Jason Gilkison.

Lani Lombard, M-Net's head of publicity, said M-Net won't be releasing any voting results for Dancing with the Stars South Africa and that the new voting system that was introduced whereby viewers first had to register before they could vote was a highly secure and massive TV voting improvement.

"We had no glitches whatsoever throughout the season of Dancing with the Stars SA for live voting. This is incredible, if you look at the history of live voting, and in this country the problems that you had in the past with delayed voting, or volumes or technical failures. This is really a secure, controlled voting mechanism. We knew exactly how many people were registered and it made the process easier."

"And because of this we can move forward and do more live shows with live voting. Live voting just makes a TV show so much more exciting because anything can happen. We are completely convinced by the new voting system. It was just so errorless and so easy to compute," said Lani Lombard.

Duck! Sushi! Pasta! French Macarons! The food at M-Net's Dancing with the Stars SA afterparty in 12 photos - and why the chef didn't want me to snap the hamburgers.

Following the live broadcast finale of Dancing with the Stars South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) this past Sunday evening where Connell Cruise won, it was followed by a press conference and then a VIP afterparty on the mezzanine lounge and pool deck at the Southern Sun Hyde Park Hotel in Johannesburg.

It's here where M-Net treated the media, sponsors and ad execs, TV executives and producers, the contestants, their family members and the professional dancers to an utterly unbelievable party that stretched late into the night with an open bar where wine and drinks flowed, together with a profusion of food stations all through the lounge area - all with different, dazzling premium food offerings staffed by chefs.

All of it was too much to take in - literally and figuratively.

While guests mingled, clinked glasses and grazed on the vast buffet organised by M-Net, guests in their finest evening wear would glide from food station to food station, where chefs would on-demand literally serve up their' every food whim and desire: from Peking duck and sushi, to every sort of pasta permutation.

On offer were the very best sea food on the one side, juxtaposed with ready-to-serve sliders - or you could "custom-make" your very own hamburger or chicken burger with straw chips. Or how about dipping into the hanging trays dessert "table" or other dessert stations whenever you want.

How about a brandy cocktail/nightcap with a dash of lemon? Or a smorgasbord of decadent cheeses?

A vast array of sauces and condiments, salads and breads were literally everywhere as part of a delectable, premium spread - a veritable ready-to-eat "food market" everywhere you turned to at the Dancing with the Stars SA afterparty.

It was unbelievable.

Afterwards some journalists, when everyone talked about who ate what, several mentioned that they totally missed some food stations and didn't see it all - completely overwhelmed by the daunting number of food choices.

At the hamburger station next to the pool, the one chef got a bit angry-annoyed ("testy" would probably be a better word) with this journalist who seemingly didn't eat or do anything other than snapping away and taking photos.

"No, wait. Why are you taking so many photos?" he asked. I explained I'm a journalist covering the event.

"But I see you taking photos of empty serving plates. Can't I just fill it up? If I put more here [hamburger station photo below] then the photo looks better?"

I nicely said, "no it's not necessary, thanks". But then the chef became forceful, not backing away into the background but basically almost insisting that I stop taking photos until more mini-hamburgers have been put on the trays.

Meanwhile right next to it, people could also make their very own burgers from all of the separate ingredients as well. I fully understood the chef - he wanted "perfect" photos. For him a full, beautifully full plate of food is perfection.

I said: "You know what, even better than a full plate of food, is an image showing that some of the food is already gone. It shows that people are actually liking it, enjoying it and that they're eating it. And they're taking it because they want it."

He suddenly nodded and asked if he could make me hamburgers but I said no, it's fine I can, and I specifically stayed here and ate several hamburgers I made, together with chips (and a glass of red wine) to show him how much guests are enjoying and munching on the food.

It's the only food at this event I actually ate (sorry ducks!) and it was perfectly lovely, while I talked to several TV producers and executives, stars and other journalists.

Before the afterparty, in an adjacent room, M-Net held its Dancing with the Stars SA press conference.

M-Net also had drinks and food here for the press as well - and it looked beauuutiful. I didn't eat here at all but had a cooldrink can of something, although some journalist tucked in. The food presentation was perfection.

INTERVIEW. Actor Eden Classens on his Dancing with the Stars SA journey: 'The whole experience was difficult but it's something that you got addicted to. It was fun.'

On Sunday night actor Eden Classens didn't win Dancing with the Stars South Africa during the live finale but ended up as one of the two runner-up couples together with actress Zola Nombona.

Just after the live finale broadcast on M-Net (DStv 101) TVwithThinus caught up with Eden Classens who spoke about his disappointment about not winning, but how much he enjoyed being part of the show and learning to be a dancer.

Eden Classens shared what he thought about the judges, his professional dancing partner Ash-Leigh Hunter, what he learnt and discovered about himself, how his body changed, and what he didn't expect would happen when he signed up to become part of the show.

Is there anything that you would have done differently during the course of the show?
No. We did everything we could. We had a great night, we had a great season; great support. We did everything we could.


What was the experience like for you being part of this show?
I grew as a person. It was actually life-changing and I learnt a few things about myself that I didn't know and I became a dancer, so it was an absolutely amazing experience. It's something I will treasure for the rest of my life.

How was the experience of getting a body harness strapped around your body and straps through your legs and around your thighs - in addition to wearing ballroom dancing clothes in the finale, and then being hoisted up with wires and dropped down for the one dance number?
Oh, it was a lot of fun.
Uhm, I mean, for a guy the strapping isn't very comfortable I would say, but it was a lot of fun and it was very cool to be able to make such an entrance.


Can you talk to me a bit about the trust relationship between you and your dance partner and how that grew over the course of the show for someone that you met and didn't know at all when you started?
Ash-Leigh Hunter and I are very similar people.
We have the same work ethic, we had the same goals, and we're very similar in the way that we approach things and we just clicked from the start and it was very easy to work with her.


What did you think of the judges?
The judges were great, they were very informative and their critique were always on point about what we could work on and it was great to get feedback from professionals like that.

What was the hardest for you?
The whole experience was difficult but it's something that you got addicted to. It was fun.
I think the hardest for the whole season was not winning tonight.


How did your body change?
I lost 12 kg and I became super fit; much more supple, much more able to do specific movements you can't do when you've got a lot of muscle on.


What did you not expect about this journey?
I didn't expect to fall in love with dancing.
I thought it was just going to be doing routine after routine, and I think tonight in the finale it became full-circle, especially with my freestyle dance. It was just amazing to have that emotional journey in such a song and I didn't expect that at all.

When will you be back at Atlantic Studios in Cape Town and resume your role on the set of kykNET's Suidooster?
I'm not allowed to comment.

[Suidooster tells me Eden Classens will definitely be back in his role as Justin Potgieter and confirms that he will be back on set on 1 May and will be seen on TV again from the end of June.]


What did you learn about yourself?
Well, I've learnt that I'm a very hard worker.
I've learnt that if I set my mind to something and I want to achieve something, that I can achieve it.
And I've learnt that you're going to get knock down a lot in your life, and you just have to stand up and keep on working hard and if you work hard enough, you'll get there.

INTERVIEW. Actress Zola Nombona on her Dancing with the Stars SA journey: 'I went in fearlessly and I had the time of my life'.

On Sunday night actress Zola Nombona didn't win Dancing with the Stars South Africa during the live finale but ended up as one of the two runner-up couples together with actor Eden Classens.

Just after the live finale broadcast on M-Net (DStv 101) TVwithThinus caught up with Zola Nombona who spoke about how the show that she expected would be "rosy" became a personal challenge to grow, that she didn't realise how really difficult the dancing competition show would be, what she thought about the judges - and revealed the one thing she was scared of, but lied so she could get to do it.

Is there anything that you would have done differently during the course of the show?
Sjoe. Maybe ... Nothing comes to mind. I did my best.
I dived very deep into spaces that I never even thought existed. Maybe if I were to go back, I'd go in with more vigor, I guess. At this point I believe I gave it my all, but there's always space for more growth, for more work. So I would go with that extra 2% of more vigor.


What has the experience of being part of the show been like for you?
Absolutely crazy.
I was not expecting it to be this intense. I just thought it was going to be a fun journey, like dancing and being with fun people. Then it was this very serious competition, that was not only demanding physically but pushing me mentally as well.
But Dancing with the Stars SA is just great if you want to push yourself - if anyone wants to find out exactly what capabilities they have, outside of their comfort zone, then you should really do something like this.


How was the experience of getting a body harness strapped around your body and straps through your legs and around your thighs - in addition to wearing ballroom dancing clothes in the finale, and then being hoisted up with wires and dropped down for the one dance number?
That was a highlight for me, for my whole journey!

It's something I had never done before. I was asked beforehand "are you afraid of heights?" and deep down I knew it was a "yes", but when I looked them in the eyes I said "no" because I knew this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, and I would never have a chance again to do something like this in such a big show and such a big production again. So I went in fearlessly and I had the time of my life.

Can you talk to me a bit about the trust relationship between you and your dance partner and how that grew over the course of the show for someone that you met and didn't know at all when you started?
I think in a journey like this, you just have to throw yourself in at the deep end and I think I built that trust early on in this competition.
We always trusted each other on what we can do and can do together. Our trust definitely grew., I must say. I think we were meant to dance together, you know. I made a great friend and a great brother with Tebogo Mashilo and I think the next person he's going to be dancing with will be a very lucky girl!


What did you think of the judges?
I loved our judges, oh my goodness! They were the most amazing people.
They are so diverse in the different aspects of dance which I think really helped us as dancers. Every time we left the floor, one had something practical, something that you learnt metaphorically as well - that you had to go and figure out yourself as well.
Sometimes I left with "I don't know what she's saying right now!" but sooner or later it would click, hey.
Ja, so I loved them, they're amazing people, and they were great.


What was the hardest for you during the course of the show?
The most difficult thing was the discipline of the dancing, you know.
Coming from a career space that is demanding, but going into one that is physically demanding, one had to grow some form of mental tenacity and physical tenacity to compete in a competition like this.

What did you not expect from this journey?
I didn't expect it to be so tough, I must say.
Like I said, I thought it was all going to be rosy, you're going to be treated like a star, and you're just going to dance like a star, but it ended up being your journey.
You had the safety net but if you wanted to get to the finals, you had to take the initiative yourself to build this and to get stronger. So it ended up being something that became really personal. So I wasn't expecting it to be so difficult - really difficult.


What have you learnt about yourself?
That the performance gift that I have, I do not have it by chance - it's something that I think is there for a greater purpose. That I'm a really strong person and that I've got great mental tenacity.

Singer-songwriter Connell Cruise crowned the winner of Dancing with the Stars on M-Net in the fantabulous glitter dance show's live finale.

Singer Connell Cruise was crowned the winner of Dancing with the Stars South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sunday night.

The live finale of the retitled 9th season of the BBC glitter floor format show was broadcast from the roof of the Hyde Park Corner shopping centre in Johannesburg, with the reality competition series that was produced by Rapid Blue.

Before the broadcast of the Dancing with the Stars SA live finale, invited guests who had to adhere to a "strictly ballroom" formal clothing dress code, snacked and sipped outside the Dance Dome (see photos at the end of the article), and got special Lindt bonbons handed out at their seats for the last episode.

The broadcast of the Dancing with the Stars SA live finale was followed by a press conference with Connell Cruise, the Rapid Blue executive producer and M-Net executives, followed by an over-the-top and lavish afterparty at the mezzanine pool deck and lounge of the Southern Sun Hyde Park hotel adjacent to the Hyde Park Corner.

ALSO READ: INTERVIEW. Connell Cruise on winning Dancing with the Stars SA: "It's the story of how hard work always pays off".

The singer-songwriter and his professional dance partner Marcella Solimeo took the glitter ball trophy, winning more public viewer votes in the finale than actress Zola Nombona and her dance partner Tebogo Mashilo, and Suidooster soap star Eden Classens and his dance partner Ash-Leigh Hunter.

Connell Cruise had been a contender and a crowd favourite right from the start of the competition.

"This is just a dream. I thank you all so much," said Connell Cruise. "From day one you filled me with such love for this beautiful art form that took over my life," at the end of the live finale.

Dancing with the Stars SA judge, Debbie Turner, at the end of the 2-hour broadcast, said "There is a famous quote that says, 'dance came from the people and should always be delivered back to the people,' and I believe that the contestants have done that".

The season finale included showstopper group dance performances, as well as special appearances by singers, including The Voice SA winner Craig Lucas, the veteran South African singer Claire Johnson and the multiple Sama-winning legends Mafikizolo.

For one group dance performance, Eden Classens (what he said about it), Zola Nombona (what she said about it) and Connell Cruise (what he said about it) were all strapped into snug-fitting harnesses and hoisted up into the rafters of the Dance dome, only to be dropped down with wire-work during a dance number.

Dancing with the Stars SA closed out with a new South African TV production record: The most glitter dropped on-screen as part of a massive glitter bomb dropped on the in-studio winners and audience, dwarfing what's ever been done before on shows like Idols, SA's Got Talent and The Voice SA.

INTERVIEW. Connell Cruise on winning Dancing with the Stars SA on M-Net: It's the story of how hard work always pays off.

On Sunday night South African viewers voted singer-songwriter Connell Cruise the winner of Dancing with the Stars SA on M-Net (DStv 101) during the broadcast of the live finale, with Connell telling TVwithThinus afterwards that his win is "the story of how hard work always pays off".

TVwithThinus sat down with Connell who talked about how dancing has been a closed door to him but how Dancing with the Stars SA helped opened that door a bit, how it felt being strapped into a harness and descending onto the dance floor in one of the finale's dazzling dance numbers, what the journey's been like for him, and what's he learnt about the experience of being part of the show.


Is there anything that you would have done differently?
I would have loved to incorporate singing into some of the performances - and we definitely tried to, the only times that were available we almost did but songs got changed last minute, and concepts got changed, but I certainly don't regret any single thing. The only thing - you know I'm very proud of our Samba.

Our Samba was difficult but I think we got a great score for the Samba even though I struggled so much, so even in my regrets because I really wanted to nail that Samba and I don't think I really did, I think our score was still a very good one, so we've got that to be proud of.

How would you describe the experience of doing this show?
Oh man. Completely out of my comfort zone. But what a lovely challenge and joy. I'm a competitive person, I never enter anything unless I'm totally into it and I totally gave this my all. And if this is the story of anything, it's the story of how hard work always pays off.


Can you talk a bit about Marcella Solimeo as your dance partner and the trust and bond that had to develop between you and quickly?
Marcella and I, I think on average over the last 4 months, we've spent at least 10 hours a day with each other. And this last month we've reached 12 hours a day. You get to know someone really well in that time. This has become like a full-time job for the most of this year and it's been a joy to work with Marcella - she's a professional, she's excellent, she's got such great vision and great ideas, and she's a fireball on that dance floor!

When she's on the dance floor you can't look at anything else, that's for sure. She's in my opinion the best of the best and I'm just the luckiest to have been paired with her and to have worked with her and to have learned under her, she's great And what I can tell you is that she's a great friend too, and she's as much a part of my family now as anything and I don't think it's ever going to change. She's the best.


In Sunday's live finale you as part of the final three competitors we're all  strapped with harnesses through and around your legs and we're hoisted up and descended in one of the spectacular dance numbers. But what was the wire-work and the tight harness like?
It was the coolest man!
Out of all the things in this competition, if I had left this competition at any point before this finale and I saw three guys and they weren't me and they were going doing that I would have really been bummed, so I'm so glad to do that. It was so much fun to come screaming down from the roof, what a joy! I've always wanted to be Superman and I really felt like Christopher Reeve flying up there. It was awesome.

What did you think of the judges?
I think the judges on the most part have been fair.
I think they've got a lot of authority and well-deserved authority. They're experts and it's not a question of "you sit up here and tell us what to do". These people have earned that right - they've earned that ability, they've earned that power through their excellent work, their excellent ability.

Some might say the judges are harsh and unfair or whatever but they've been through worse to get to where they are now than anything that we've been through. And I wouldn't have wanted it any other way. I wouldn't have wanted to be part of a journey where we were mollycoddled, or peaches and cream, and told things that didn't matter.
In my life I respect hard work and they've only inspired me to be harder and to give more and that's been very good.


What was the hardest for you about being part of this show?
The hardest for me was the emotional vulnerability because a show like this requires you to reveal so much of yourself and as a musician, as a singer, I like to reveal myself in cryptic for and let people figure it out if they want to.
This has forced me in a good way to open up and reveal parts of myself that I don't normally think I would have. And Marcella worked really hard with me in bringing that out and that's been the hardest part but also the most rewarding part and I'm grateful for it.


How did your body change?
Well, I'm fitter than what I've ever been in my life. I think I've got a six pack - or at least a four and a half. I'm toned as heck. I feel strong. I feel fit and I'm looking forward to maintaining this because I don't want to lose this. Check with me in 6 months and see if I still look the same!

What did you not expect about this journey?
I didn't expect how much I would want this. I didn't expect that this would really become all-consuming, all-encompassing.
I thought it was going to be fun, I thought it was going to be a challenge, I thought it was going to be out of my comfort zone and it certainly met those expectations and exceeded them. But the thing that really blew my mind is how much I would care about this - how much I would care about dancing, how much I would love it and come to respect it.


What would you say did you learn about yourself?
I learnt that performance is bigger than anything I could have imagined or thought about before.
This has opened up a whole new world of expressing myself, of finding  meaning; of art. It's really opened my eyes to what there is and dancing for my whole life has been a closed door. It's been something that I've always admired but never could really understand.

And what Dancing with the Stars SA has done is it's opened that door a bit and it has shown me that there's so much out there. I'm not saying in any way that I'm an expert or have achieved really, but it's given me a taste for this and it's a taste I want to keep on enjoying.

Connell Cruise, Eden Classens and Zola Nombona to compete in M-Net's Dancing with the Stars SA live season finalé this Sunday.

The live TV broadcast of the season finalé of Dancing with the Stars South Africa on M-Net (DStv 101) this coming Sunday at 17:00 will see Connell Cruise, Eden Classens and Zola Nombona compete in a last dance-off to see who will be crowned the winner and get to lift up the coveted glitter ball trophy.

The revived BBC-format - produced by Rapid Blue productions for M-Net and name-changed from Strictly Come Dancing SA to Dancing with the Stars SA for a 9th season to differentiate it from when it was on the SABC for the previous 8th seasons until 2015 - will come to a close from the Strictly Come Dancing SA Dome on the roof of the Hyde Park Centre this Sunday.

The winner of Strictly Come Dancing SA will now be decided by viewers' votes with the scoring from the judges Jason Gilkison, Tebogo Kgobokoe, Debbie Turner and Bryan Watson no longer in play for Sunday's season finale.

Connell Cruise is dancing with Marcella Solimeo, Eden Classens with Ash-Leigh Hunter and Zola Nombona's professional dance partner is Tebogo Mashilo.

M-Net added an extra voting period leading up to the Dancing with the Stars SA finalé on Sunday 22 April, with viewers who can vote until Wednesday 18 April at 22:00 with their usual 100 votes.

Live voting for the finalé show will reopen at 17:00 on Sunday 22 April and will close (slightly earlier than usual) at 18:15 ahead of the winner announcement just before 19:00.

M-Net says the vote count and ranking of contestants is done according to the international format rules and is independently computed by Deloitte and Touche and are confirmed against the vote results as determined by M-Net.

INTERVIEW. Vanes-Mari du Toit waves Dancing with the Stars SA goodbye: 'I look back and think, Vanes-Mari you were crazy, but it was worth every sacrifice, every minute of pain'.

On Sunday night Vanes-Mari du Toit, the international netball player, became the 9th celebrity contestant to be voted out of Dancing with the Stars SA on M-Net (DStv 101), saying that looking back, it was worth every sacrifice, every minute of pain and that she won a life experience.

TVwithThinus spoke with Vanes-Mari du Toit who was paired with the professional dancer Johannes Radebe during the show, as she opened up about the additional challenge of learning to wear heels and her dream of branching out into sports TV presenting.

For the first time Vanes-Mari's talking about the multiple serious physical injuries she sustained and never revealed, losing 13kg and needing new underwear, dancing herself "older and more mature" - and also the unexpected pushback she and Johannes got for being an interracial couple on TV and how she won't give that negativity any energy.


Is there anything you think you could have done differently?

Absolutely not. 

I've done everything to the best of my abilities. I've given everything I have to this competition and I've left everything on the dance floor. The only thing that I would have changed before the competition is actually walking in heels.

I definitely would have forced myself to walk in heels. 

So it was an additional challenge in learning the dance routines, right?

I never used to wear heels at all. 

I'm 6 foot 2, it's never expected of me to wear heels and I never wanted to be the lamp post - I never want to be the tallest person in the room.

The first two weeks of our rehearsals when we started week 1, that first week was just about walking in heels and not falling over, not spraining your ankle. Literally just walking in heels was a big challenge for me. 

What has the experience of being part of this show been like for you?

This show has meant more to me than a trophy or a finale. Just the experience to be able to push yourself to the limit and learn so many things.

 And I got to meet an amazing human being with my dance partner Johannes Radebe who's such an inspiration for me. I've learnt so much from him; from his culture - not just as a dancer but as a person and life in general.

We've really grown together and to love another - two people from such vastly different backgrounds and we've created and formed this amazing friendship.

Also, the hard work and taking yourself outside of your comfort zone - you know that you're being pushed to your absolute limits right now and that you need to persevere. I always knew that I was a fighter and I always knew that I'm someone who never gives up but you know, when you're in situations like this dancing competition, that is when it comes out.

I can really lift my head high and be proud of what I've accomplished.

You obviously come out of a sports background, you're a strong sportswoman; psychologically you know about determination and pushing temporary pain to the background and focusing on the end goal. How do you think that helped you?

A very good question, I think in a way it's been great but it has also been a bit of a handicap.

Sport has taught me discipline, it's taught me how to work hard for your dreams and what you want to achieve, goal-setting, to persevere. But netball is different to dancing in that regard in that what's expected of you as a dancer is not only a physical attribute - you need to have a performance base as well.

What I struggled with being a sports person is being able to "perform" at the level that some of the performers are performing at. For the first couple of weeks I had serious anxiety going onto that floor. You're performing - just you and your partner, alone, in front of all of those people, in front of the cameras. I did have performance anxiety quite a bit because I'm not used to performing and being in that role and also "acting" it as some of my competitors who are performing artists.

You know, most performing artists - actors, singers - they've all done movement as a subject during. They've done dancing in some capacity when it comes to performing arts, they know how to count and move, where from my experience I have zero, zero experience when it comes to that. The executive producer Kee-Leen Irvine joked and said of me "She can't even walk while chewing gum at the same time". I had zero rhythm, I had zero coordination. 

But when it comes to playing netball in a team environment I'm very much a team player and I think that's why I'm so good at ballroom because that's a team effort - you connect with your partner, you're doing your part and he's doing his part. I struggled with Latin because you're very exposed as a dancer - you have to dance on your own and that kind of stuff.

So after you did the very first dance, was it then an icebreaker or did it make you even more fearful of the next dance?

It was more of an icebreaker. 

I think the fact that we got good reviews - we did our Quickstep first - and I did have a slip in the Quickstep - but that I could pull it through and still perform - it wasn't an icebreaker, it wasn't really being fearful of the next dance. What it did was that it opened by eyes. It introduced me to performing. So every week it got easier, if that makes sense. 

Every week it got a bit easier to step out onto the dance floor and to own it. But not being a performer, and being thrown into the deep end like that, that was tough. And being the last sportsperson left in the competition I just wanted to make sportspeople proud.

If you think about sportspeople, we're people who work hard behind the scenes and then we do our thing when it's necessary and we accomplish the goals that we set. But it's not a permanent "performing" situation - it's a hardworking situation; you're doing it for the greater good, you're doing it for your country, you're doing it for your team, you're doing it for so many other reasons.

With dance you're doing it for yourself and that's something I realised that I had to overcome that. 

I'm always doing so many things for everybody else that I forget about myself.

How do you feel about being voted out?

I really wanted to be in the finale - let's start with that.

I would have loved to be in that final. Johannes and I have overcome so many adversities but I do believe - and you can put this on record - I do believe that I am the most improved dancer out of all of the dancing contenders when it comes to where we started and where we ended up.

There's certain people with very natural abilities that dancing comes more naturally to, there are people who've got natural rhythm and performance - all of those are things that I really had to work hard at to accomplish and I held my own against them.

Falling out is a relative term because I feel we were so close to getting into the finale. We've danced every episode of this season of Dancing with the Stars SA on M-Net. I'm very proud of how far we've come.

I've won. I've won more than just a final and a trophy. I've won a life experience, lessons and memories that I will treasure forever.

What do you think of the judges?

Oh I absolutely love the judges. 

My honest, honest, honest opinion is that I do think they were sometimes a little bit too hard on me in the way that they've compared me to some of the other competitors and not to myself.

But I take it. I take it with grace because they know what they're talking about. Those judges are so educated in dancing, I've got so much respect for them. And they're lovely people too. 

We're not allowed to mingle too much with them at all, but the small encounters I've had with them has really been lovely. Bryan is a Latin champ and I'm still going to work on that - I'll get him one day. 

What was the hardest for you?

I had injuries that I never mentioned and didn't bring up.

I've torn my hip abductor which is your muscle in your hip - I tore that muscle. I tore the back of my knee. I had bleeding blisters - not just blisters. I dislocated my finger. I fell on my shoulder so badly that I tore a part of my rotator cuff but it's all things I chose not to reveal.

It was a choice: Am I going to be a victim to the set of circumstances or am I going to ride the bus?

So the injuries were a very big mental battle for me. 

Then also being in so many dance-offs. After being in so many dance-offs you start to think am I really that bad? Your mind wants you to think am I really that bad, I'm probably not going to make it, make peace with that, you're not as good as the rest.

And then I realised that where you land is just as a result of the scoring we just need to keep on working and control what you can control. So Johannes and I had a conversation about controlling the controlables - we can't control the judges' scoring, we can't control the voting. What we can control is the product we put on the floor and things like how many hours we work.

We have worked until midnight - we lived in the same apartment block - we have come home at 1am numerous occasions that we had almost contemplated sleeping in studio. That was how much and how dedicated Johannes and I were during this competition.

I look back and think, Vanes-Mari you were crazy, but it was worth every sacrifice, every minute of pain, every minute of self-doubt. 

Looking back I've grown so much as a person and I always say you grow when you're out of your comfort zone and this was completely out of my comfort zone.

How did your body change?

Did you see the picture I posted on Instagram? I posted a picture, my husband and I were on honeymoon until 10 January and on the last day of our honeymoon my husband snapped a picture of me in my bikini.

I told him "I don't approve, I don't like bikini photos of me, I will throw your phone into the ocean, do not do that. He didn't post it onto social media but then we looked back at how I looked 3 months ago and compared it to now and I couldn't believe how my body's changed.

I've lost 13kg. I still need to get from the wardrobe department how many centimetres I've lost - I'd love to know that. 

But my clothes are not fitting me anymore, I need to get new clothing - that's how much my body's changed. I need new underwear. My underwear is falling off me. I need new shirts and pants and everything. My body's changed for the better and I'm definitely planning on keeping it off.

I think it's going to set me up very nicely for netball going forward. We start in May with the Brutal Fruit Championships - our national championships broadcast on SuperSport. So that's what I'm going to be gunning for and hopefully after that continue my international career.

I've been jumping, I've been leaping, I've been twisting, I've been swiveling, I've been doing all these different movements and your body remembers these things.

So I think in a way dancing is preparing me very well for netball when it comes to agility and when it comes to movement. We'll see what happens on court. I think I need to get into gym a little bit because I've lost a lot of muscle since day one. I've become more agile and lighter but in netball you need to be a little bit more stronger - especially in the positions that I play, unless I change my position. I'll talk to the coach and see what happens. I'm excited about my future in sport and possibly in TV. 

Dancing with the Stars SA has opened up the realisation to me that I'm actually very comfortable in front of the camera and I'm very authentic - that's something I've realised. I've stayed myself until the end. Because of that I feel maybe there is a career for me in TV, so I'm definitely going to go for some presenting or acting classes, and you never know.

What type of TV presenting would you like to do? Like a SuperSport show on DStv?

I do do commentating but it's more behind the scenes. It's something that I already do for SuperSport. And here and there I'm on SuperSport for netball, but I would love to be a host of a show or a presenter for a show that's a sports TV magazine programme where we can highlight and showcase all of the lesser-known sports that South Africa is doing really, really well in.

We've got world champions in judo, in underwater hockey. We've got so many great sportspeople in this country who I feel get neglected and who need to be known. 

We've got world champions in triathlon and nobody knows their names. We've literally won gold medals in sporting codes like bowling and canoe-ing and nobody even realises what these people go through. 

So I'd love to go into their sporting minds and make it fun and maybe try out all of these sporting codes. I think it would be really, really cool to showcase what they do.

What did you not expect about this journey?

A difficult one. I didn't expect to lose the weight that I did. I didn't expect to make the level of friends that I made in this competition.

I really, really enjoyed myself. I didn't expect to come this far in this competition, to be honest with you. After being in the dance-off in week three or four, I was thinking "oh we are definitely not making it". But as it went on, the more and more we rehearsed and the better I got with certain things, the more I realised that I can actually do this. 

I never realised how much self-belief I really had in myself and how even more confident dancing could make me. I never expected that either. It's brought out different sides to me. I think I've danced myself older in a way and more mature. I've definitely grown in this competition.

I wanted to ask what did you learn about yourself but you've now already answered that, so let me ask what is there that you want to comment on that I didn't ask?

Uhm, it's a sensitive subject and I don't really even know how to bring it up in a nice way.

But Johannes and I both received some negativity around the fact that we're an interracial couple on South African television on Dancing with the Stars SA on M-Net. 

And some people don't understand that. And that was also one of the struggles and challenges that we had to face. We're not going to give those people any power. And viewers and fans didn't know that. 

So then let me ask, finally, why do you think it's important for South Africa and TV viewers so see an interracial couple, competing together, where they are both highly professional people in their fields, and doing something amazing like Dancing with the Stars SA?

I think it's amazing because that is the future of South Africa. 

And that is the type of South Africa that I would want to raise my children in. 

That's the type of South Africa that I want to live in and have my children in and that I want to be a part of. And that's why it's important to show this.

INTERVIEW. Frank Opperman says farewell to Dancing with the Stars SA: 'I hated it as well but it was the most wonderful experience one could have'.

On Sunday night South Africa's Outboet, Frank Opperman, became the 8th celebrity contestant to be voted out of Dancing with the Stars SA on M-Net (DStv 101), saying he simultaneously hated and loved the show that was physically grueling but also the "most wonderful experience that one could have".

TVwithThinus spoke with Frank Opperman, who was paired with the professional dancer Jeanné Swart during the show, as he shared about "dancing with divas" - in a good way, giving up smoking, drinking and even elevator rides, how early on he actually contemplated leaving the show, and how he maybe could have worked harder but also couldn't.

Is there anything you think you could have done differently?

No, sjoe. No. I could have worked harder but I couldn't. I was too tired. Physically, jene, I've got a sore ankle this morning. Physically It was very hectic on my - the physical side of it was rather hectic for me. 

And what has the experience been like for you?

It was one of the most - I was thinking just now, it was better that a 10-step programme, that is how lekker it was to me. It was the most wonderful experience that one could have. I hated it as well but sjoe, it was a lekker challenge - to keep up with it. I'm very, very grateful to have been part of an outing like that. 

Can you talk a bit about the bond and trust between you and your dance partner?

My dance partner is Jeanné Swart and she put her life in my hands at times! What one was doing, it felt to me like little stunts, like in a movie scene. And I would lift and swing her around where the faith she would have had to have in me to do that was really amazing. She's a real hardcore dancing girl who would put her whole body on the line for us to get a nice move. And if you're going to miss, you're going to hurt somebody, so that was very interesting.

How do you feel about being voted out?

I was relieved, sjoe, it's really hectic. And I know those other kids dance so beautifully. And I was just exhausted. I thought it's too much dancing now, I couldn't keep up. To me, early in Dancing with the Stars SA I wanted to duck and dive and then it started getting into your blood and then you try harder, but sjoe, no, I was exhausted. And it was long days. Those youngsters work up to 14 hours a day and that shows why they get to dance like divas! So it's really, really hard work to physically crack that. 

What do you think of the judges?

Ag, excellent people. Everybody should go and have a look at Bryan Watson on the internet on YouTube - Bryan Watson and it's called a jive, him and his partner. You will see he was for 9 years the reigning world champion. You must watch what that goes does, man. They were amazing people, I had a fun time with them.

What was the hardest for you?

The hardest thing about it was the time, the physical thing, and jene, to go and stand and dance in front of people and you know Dancing with the Stars SA on M-Net is live - there's no take number 2 here. And if you're going to let somebody slip, jene, jy kan jou naam lekker gat maak. You know, that kind of pressure to it, definitely was so hard. You can make your name big gat. And I'm just so fortunate that I left there without making my name too gat, because dancing is a hectic thing. I've got a lot of respect for people that can do that.

How did your body change?

I lost 7kg. I'm so supple at the moment. I haven't taken an elevator or something for like 3 months, and I haven't smoked. And I haven't been drinking and everything, so jene, I'm in tip-top shape besides from a little bit of an ankle this morning and that's from trying to do a Charleston where you have to swing your foot in and out. But it's all good, you know.

What did you not expect about this journey?

Oef. Actually the whole thing, you know. The whole thing was a surprise to me. I was kind of asked nicely to be in it, and in a moment of madness, I said "Okay, I'll do this". I thought "Ag, go change your start of my year". It's been the same for 15 years. I start with an arts festival and do a show. And this year I started off without having to learn lines or anything, all I had to do is move my body around. It was an experience and a half!

What did you learn about yourself?

 I'm amazed at the body and how muscle memory works. It's one of those things where you can't go and learn a manual. You've got to do it physically. It's like playing a guitar or somebody that does something - you've got to go and actually practise this thing physically, you can't read a manual. 

I thought, "Wow, I impressed myself being able to do this".