Athletics Coach Odessa Swarts Leaves Dancing With The Starts SA Like A Champ

At the end of this week’s star-studded “South African Songbook” theme, inspiring athletics coach Odessa Swarts and her professional dancing partner Dylon Daniels ended their dancing journey on M-Net’s Dancing With The Stars SA while the judges gave Protea netball shooter Vanes-Mari du Toit and Johannes Radebe the opportunity to return next week to “dance some more”.

During the two-hour Dancing With The Stars SA live extravaganza at Hyde Park Corner in Johannesburg, the ten remaining couples in the competition showed off their skills to the songs of massive local hitmakers such as Vicky Sampson,  Mango Groove, Miriam Makeba, Goodluck, Laurika Rauch, MiCasa, Freshly Ground and Black Coffee. And, almost as if they were suffused with national pride, many of them earned their best scores do date in the competition from the team of internationally acclaimed judges.

But after the viewers’ votes were reconciled with the scores from Bryan Watson, Debbie Turner, Tebogo Kgobokoe and Jason Gilkison, it was time to find out in the 20:00 Dancing With The Stars SA live results show which two couples found themselves at the bottom of the leaderboard, meaning they had to dance-off to stay in the competition.

There was some relief for the audience from the tension in the room when South African legend Johnny Clegg and his son Jesse Clegg performed together for the very first time on reality television, in an M-Net exclusive. But then the moment of truth could be postponed no longer, as Dancing With The Stars SA host Chris Jaftha announced which couples would return to dance again next week.

Vanes-Mari and Johannes Radebe had to Cha-Cha-Chá again,  knowing that Latin dancing is not her favourite style. “You’ve still got some work to do in your Latin dances,” judge Jason told Vanes-Mari after her performance. Tebogo admitted that the judges were surprised to see her in the Dance-Off, but a cool and calm Vanes-Mari said she welcomed the opportunity to show them what that Cha-Cha-Chá should look like.

Odessa hoped to inspire people through the competition and set an example for her daughter.  “If I give up, I let her know that it’s okay to give up,” she told Dancing With The Stars SA host Tracey Lange after her performance. Odessa and Dylon performed the first Rhumba of the season tonight, prompting tough judge Tebogo to comment that she didn’t show “enough leg action, hip action, and all of that”. Before her dance-off, judge Jason commented that Odessa was probably grateful for an opportunity to improve her performance. “You’re a fighter,” he told her. “So get out there and bring that beautiful personality onto that floor.”

When they had to pick a couple, all four the judges opted for Vanes-Mari and Johannes.

“It’s been an amazing journey,” said a gracious Odessa, paying tribute to her partner, Dylon Daniels. “He brought out the best in me.”

Dancing again next week [11 March] will be:

  • Radio host and former Miss SA Liesl Laurie and her partner, Ryan Hammond
  • Retired Bafana Bafana winger Delron Buckley and his partner, Angelique Allison
  • Screen and stage personality Frank Opperman and his partner, Jeanné Swart
  • Singer and songwriter Connell Cruise and his partner, Marcello Solimeo
  • Television actress Zola Nombona and her partner, Tebogo Mashilo
  • Actor and model Eden Classens and his partner, Ash-Leigh Hunter
  • Former Blue Bulls rugby player Thando Manana and his partner, Michelle Oppenshaw
  • Protea Netball Goal Shooter Vanes-Mari du Toit and her partner, Johannes Radebe
  • Silver screen actress Juanita De Villers and her partner, Johan Dippenaar

Viewers have to register at mnet.tv/dwtssavote to participate in the live Dancing With The Stars SA voting. Voting registration opened again at 20:30 tonight and will close at 16:30 on Sunday, 11 March, ahead of the next live episode. Viewers only need to register once to be able to vote in every episode of the season.

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

Dancing with the Stars SA is produced for M-Net by Rapid Blue and is sponsored by Lottostar. Join the conversation on the Dancing with the Stars SA Facebook page, or on Twitter and Instagram using the hashtag #DWTSSA.

For more information about M-Net’s impressive new local slate, visit www.mnet.tv

By Andrew Germishuys

Founder of SAMDB | Actor | Armourer | Tech Enthusiast With over two decades in the film industry, I'm a seasoned actor and skilled armourer. I hold numerous certifications in acting and filmmaking, complemented by degrees and diplomas in IT and technology, giving me a unique blend of creative and technical expertise. When I'm not on set or in the workshop, you'll find me immersed in the world of gaming and VR, fuelling my passion for cutting-edge technology. Connect with me: X / Twitter Facebook Instagram Mastodon Threads Explore my work on SAMDB IMDb