Durban - Durban dancer and choreographer, Keegan Barnes, is thrilled that the international travel restrictions have been lifted and plans to return to the United States to continue his dream of teaching and working as a dancer, teacher and choreographer in Los Angeles (LA).
The 23-year old has accumulated countless awards over the past few years and recently, during lockdown, entered the Project Performer National Online Competition and came second in the choreography section.
He also entered the Move Online Dance Competition and was awarded gold for Hip-Hop and silver in the Contemporary section.
Last year Barnes represented South Africa, competing in the World Championships of Performing Arts (WCOPA) and did exceptionally well, achieving 1 gold award, 5 silver awards, 4 bronze awards and a two-month scholarship at the Millennium Dance Complex in LA.
During his scholarship period, Keegan was selected to perform with the Immabreath Dance Company in the Choreographers Carnival Show, featuring elite dancers and the best choreographers in LA.
Barnes is the first South African to be selected as a member of the Immabreath and Immabeast Dance companies and also recently auditioned online and was accepted into Luma Dance Company.
“I am ecstatic to be able to train with top dancers in LA and look forward to getting involved in shoots, training, music videos and shows,” he said.
Barnes’s experience spans many dance styles including contemporary, jazz, hip-hop and musical theatre but he specialises in hip-hop.
Dance truly is universal and has the power to connect people from different cultures. A goal of mine is to do a tour around the world teaching hip-hop and I have already made plans to include Puerto Rico, Sweden and Guatemala in my teaching tour,” he said.
The Mercury
The Mercury