Parktown breakdancer, Chay Botman, 22, is hoping to bust a move at the Notorious IBE hip hop dance gathering in The Netherlands, in August.
Established in 1998, the IBE, is one of the longest running festivals of its kind, attracting hip-hop heads from around the globe in a multi-stage celebration of music, fashion, creativity and all things hip-hop.
Relatively new to the scene, BBoy Shady, as he’s known in hip-hop circles, has been dancing for six years and has established himself as a crowd favourite at breakdance battles across the city.
Botman was crowned Western Cape regional winner of last year’s Breaking for Gold Olympic qualifier and made it to the knockout stages of the 2023 Red Bull Dance Your Style street dance competition at the V&A Waterfront.
Run by the Federation of Dance Sport South Africa, the Breaking for Gold qualifiers were held to select a team to represent South Africa at this year’s Olympic Games in Paris, where breakdancing is set to be the only new sport to make it’s debut at the world’s greatest games.
With Botman finishing fourth in last year’s national final qualifying round, he might have another chance to earn a spot on the national team, when this year’s regional qualifiers kick off in Kuils River, in July.
“I actually do more than just break when it comes to dancing,” he said, “I do styles like house, popping and locking, but breaking is my main style,” Botman said.
He’s always been a bit of a performer, he said, entertaining friends and family with his Michael Jackson routine but never really bothered with formal training until his grandmother Irma Botman, took him by the hand and enrolled him for dance class at the Joseph Stone Auditorium in Athlone.
“She noticed I could dance and wanted to see if I would be able to continue,” he said.
Strangely enough, he says, it was not a case of love at first sight, as he never really liked breakdancing but was smitten after watching a string of dance movies from the early to mid-2000s including Honey, Step Up, Save the Last Dance and You Got Served.
“True,” he said, “I disliked it as a kid but as I grew older, I started to like it more and more.”
Coming up with fancy footwork designed to impress judges and to woo the crowd, is a lot harder than some might think, he said.
“I spend a good couple hours a week on it. I practise three days a week, for about seven to eight hours a week. Sometimes my practice sessions are one and a half hours, sometimes even two hours and 30 minutes at a time,” he said.
Nathan Lodewyk, a breakdance teacher from Bonteheuwel, agrees, saying it really takes commitment and dedication to become a top BBoy or BGirl.
Lodewyk has known Botman for about seven years and introduced him to the Vouks Foundation, a breakdance Academy that he is involved in. “The Academy’s aim is to create opportunities for BBoys and BGirls.
“He is very versatile and not afraid to explore concepts when it comes to breaking and creating sets. He has good energy and knows how to compose himself when he battles,” said Lodewyk.
“Shady has been competing at a few high level competitions, so IBE is a huge opportunity for him. It’s an international hip-hip festival attended by some of the world’s top dancers,” he said.
To make his dream a reality, Botman needs to raise R15 000. If you can help, visit his backabuddy page or call 068 514 3715.
