Dance enabled Clayton Jannike to escape drug addiction and gangs. He now teaches dance and life skills to underprivileged children in South Africa.
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00:00As a teenager surrounded by drugs and murder, Clayton Yanaka struggled to find his way.
00:07Let's find out about the passion he discovered that changed his life.
00:11Dancing is not just dance for me, it's like my whole entire life.
00:15The rhythm that is inside of my body, it creates a connection
00:20and I follow the kind of feeling in my heart and what I feel, that's what I present to the world.
00:25Growing up in Ayles River in Cape Town wasn't easy.
00:28What was the turning point that prevented Clayton from being sucked into gangsterism
00:33and the cycle of violence and drugs?
00:36At the age of 15, I started working with friends, going out, partying, drinking a lot.
00:42So I didn't study, I was lazy all the time.
00:45In the same year, as I failed Grade 10, I made a child as well at the age of 16 years old.
00:51I realised that I'm now a child and a father at the same time.
00:56It was quite difficult.
00:58I decided I'm going to change my ways, I'm going to go to school again, I'm going to study harder.
01:03But now Clayton had new financial responsibilities.
01:06So what did he do?
01:08I've taught myself how to cut in, just to get the extra income during the day after school.
01:13So I got money in just to support myself.
01:15She became my goal, my daughter became my goal.
01:19She opened my eyes and made me a better person.
01:22The year his daughter was born, Clayton discovered contemporary dance.
01:26He worked as a cleaner for three years after finishing school.
01:30And then his dance teacher encouraged him to audition for a new dance company.
01:35Let's find out what happened.
01:37He came here very stiff.
01:39But you know what? He puts extra work.
01:43He's got a very intelligent body.
01:45He's beautiful to watch.
01:47And I can't wait to see for five years to come.
01:50Oh, I'm sure he's going to be doing solos.
01:53He's just got a soft drive. I love that.
01:56After 30 years as a professional dancer, in 2022, Sbo started Sbo Ndaba Dance for youth at risk.
02:04Let's find out who dances there.
02:06You're short, you're big, you're tall, you're skinny.
02:09Sbo Ndaba Dance is a place where if you cannot fit in other companies
02:15or you don't have money to pursue your studies, but you've got a passion for dancing,
02:20you've got a place right here.
02:23I only want people who want to pursue this as a career.
02:28It's a place where you dream big.
02:32There's no limitations.
02:34Beyond physical strength and coordination, what does it take to be able to dance this way?
02:39Before you do a movement, you already did it in your mind.
02:43So if you fear the movement, you're not going to do it.
02:46Or you're going to fail the movement.
02:48If your heart is not at the right place, you can't dance.
02:53You're going to have injuries. You have to be in the present moment.
02:56When I look at you and I'm flying, I'm going to go up in the air.
02:59I must know that you're going to be there because I trust you already.
03:03We really, really work hard.
03:05They say, oh, my body is sore. Everything is sore.
03:08They want to stop. Then you say, don't quit.
03:10Push up. Brace yourself.
03:13And say, I will do it to the end. I'll get to the other side.
03:17For me, she's like a mother.
03:19Because she always gives us good advice what to do and what not to do.
03:24I want to be every day around her.
03:26What I'm learning is not dancing only. I'm learning acting.
03:29I'm learning how to work with different kinds of people as well.
03:33And how to be a choreographer.
03:35They are sharpening their skills as dancers, as workshop facilitators.
03:41We compose our own songs. We do a lot of improvisations.
03:45They can live with those skills.
03:47They can work in a fully-fledged company.
03:50They can go anywhere and go teach.
03:52Small believes in creating productions that speak to the challenges and issues relevant today.
03:58So what are some of the subjects the dancers cover?
04:01There's a topic right now. It's about brotherhood.
04:04It's a positive masculinity.
04:06Whereby you demonstrate a lot of compassion, love and gentleness.
04:12It's about sticking together and sharing the love as brothers.
04:15So we're standing up for all the men that's being pushed down.
04:19Or say back then, in slavery also, how the brothers stick together.
04:25In 2023, dancers travel to the AfroVibes Festival in the Netherlands
04:30to perform if our ancestors could speak.
04:33Exploring the impact of colonization on indigenous people.
04:38The storyline was about the Khoisans.
04:41In that time, slavery and apartheid was happening.
04:43The land was taken away and they couldn't fight for the land.
04:46I knew I'm part of the Khoisan community.
04:49And I was so happy to portray what they went through.
04:53There was this one night.
04:54You just heard people sniffling and wiping off tears.
04:59They're still carrying this guilt about what happened in the past.
05:02It was so emotional for me.
05:03And that also made me think,
05:05okay, we're on the right direction, telling our history.
05:10To deliver a message for the public or to different schools or audiences,
05:15you yourself have to understand the story.
05:18And how to create the storyline, most important.
05:21The dancers are learning steps for a production called Our Mother, The Earth.
05:25What do they focus on to raise awareness about climate change?
05:29We're talking about the pollution, about the oil and the gas.
05:33The challenge for us is to dance to different elements.
05:36We need to understand with our bodies how the water flows.
05:41What is rock, hot, like earth.
05:44And we need to understand what is air and fire.
05:48Back home in Elles River, Clayton shares what he learns with the kids in his neighborhood.
05:53Why does he do this and what do they enjoy the most?
05:57They just want the energy.
05:59They just want to be hyped in different ways.
06:02So I use the skills they love.
06:04They love b-boying.
06:06They love hip-hop.
06:07They don't have other opportunities.
06:09I'm trying to avoid them not going into gangsterism or meeting the wrong friends.
06:14So I will give them a word of advice.
06:18My yard is open and free for all the kids to come and play anytime they want.
06:22They feel like there's a house that they can go to where there's love.
06:26Or where they know they're going to feel safe.
06:30Clayton's story is just one example of how dance can improve lives.