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‘Dancing’ star takes show on the road
By John Benson
When Keoikantse Motsepe was a young man growing up in South Africa winning dance title after dance title, he often would watch “Dancing With the Stars,” hoping one day he’d come stateside to appear on the popular reality television show.
That opportunity came out of the blue earlier this year. The dancer was touring Australia with “Burn the Floor” when he received a call saying producers of “Dancing With the Stars” wanted to see him.
“My manager called me and said there was a possibility I could be on ‘Dancing With the Stars,’” Motsepe said. “I said, ‘Say what?’ It was fun, exciting and a lot of hard work. It was more mentally demanding. I had to be mentally fit. That was amazing for me, and it was great that I just fit in even though I bring something different, a different flavor.”
The bad news was he and his celebrity partner, Olympic track star Lolo Jones, ended up being the first couple ousted from the program. While some folks would see this as a negative, Motsepe takes more of a glass-half-full approach that has gotten him this far in life.
“Obviously, I wanted to win,” said Motsepe, who is unsure if he’ll return next season. “I was thinking, ‘What if I got here and just change the whole thing. Like just go there and be the first black guy on the show for the first time and just win the thing.’
“But it didn’t happen. We got out the first week so it’s life. It comes with ups and downs. I guess for me it’s more about learning.”
That learning continues today as he prepares for the upcoming “Dancing With the Stars Live” tour featuring Mirrorball Champion Alfonso Ribeiro along with Kym Johnson, Sasha Farber, Mark Ballas, Witney Carson, Emma Slater and Valentin Chmerkovskiy.
The all-new tour features dancers choreographing never-before-seen numbers, while recreating some of the show’s most memorable moments. The star-studded bill comes through the area with a Thursday show at the Benedum Center in Pittsburgh and two Jan. 18 shows at the Hard Rock Rocksino Northfield.
“I was doing like eight numbers but they keep on growing,” Motsepe said. “I think now I’m in like 14 numbers, and it keeps growing every day. I’m not complaining. I love it. The more I dance, the more I enjoy myself and the more I’m happy. My medicine is happiness, and happiness comes from my dancing.”
Motsepe’s dancing has an inviting sensibility that speaks to the “Dancing With the Stars” mainstream appeal.
“In my opinion, I think dancing is one of the more interesting things for people to watch,” Motsepe said. “It comes with different emotions. The show itself allows audiences, some of them are non-dancers, to go, ‘OK, I can do that.’
“So it shows them that it’s not impossible for them to learn to dance, no matter what age you are. Look at Tommy Chong on the show, He was killing it. It’s never too late, and it’s just a fun thing to watch.”