Johannesburg – Internationally acclaimed Soweto-born dancer and choreographer, Dada Masilo, has died after a brief illness at 39.
The Masilo family has requested privacy in honour of Dada’s memory, at this tragic time.
Ironically, before her unexpected passing, Dada was working on an autobiographical solo piece about the loss of loved ones.
During her career, Dada received many local and global awards, including an Italian Lifetime Achievement Award for classic and contemporary dance.
Dada received the award in September 2024 at the Premio Positano Léonide Massine for the Art of Dance.
Born on 21 February 1985, Dada began her meteoric career at the Dance Factory in Newtown, Johannesburg in the 1990s.
Dada first came to the attention of the dance industry as an 11-year-old in 1996, when she was invited to dance for Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.
She was educated at the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein, matriculating in 2002.
In 2003 she went on to train at Jazzart Dance Theatre under the tutelage of Alfred Hinkel in preparation for her training in performance at P.A.R.T.S. (Performing Arts Research and Training Studios) in Brussels, Belgium.
Dancing with various companies and in a solo capacity, Masilo was recognised for her unique presence onstage.
In 2006 she was celebrated as the “Most Promising Female Dance in a Contemporary Style” by the Gauteng Arts and Culture MEC Award judges, and in 2008, at just 22, she was the recipient of the Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance.
The latter enabled her career, her confidence in her work, and her audience awareness to take flight internationally.
Masilo was an extraordinary dancer, who understood the value of proper balletic training.
She was prolific in her work.
In 2016 her “Swan Lake” was nominated for a Bessie Award in New York; a year later, her “Giselle” won “Best Performance” by the Italian Danza&Danza Award, and in 2018 she won the Netherlands’ Prince Claus “Next Generation” Award 2018.
During her brilliant career, she collaborated with the likes of William Kentridge, Ann Masina, Albert Silindokuhle Ibokwe Khoza, David April, PJ Sabbagha, and Gregory Maqoma.
Dada’s work was distinguished by her fearlessness.
She was known to take great ballet classics of the ilk of “Carmen”, “Hamlet”, “The Rite of Spring” and “Romeo and Juliet” and tease them apart, bringing in African dance motifs and a universal and powerful understanding of their lead women.
Deeply respectful of European and contemporary music traditions, but unafraid to go bare on stage and voice her own opinions, she effectively changed the shape and appearance of contemporary dance in South Africa.
At the beginning of December 2024, she was acknowledged by the City of Joburg as one of 44 “artistic icons in the City of Gold” with a star embedded into the wall of Soweto Theatre.
This award meant a lot to her and was the most important acknowledgment of her career in SA.
Arrangements for a memorial service have not yet been finalised and will be announced in due course.
