Picture: MOLLY TAYLOR
A SHARED passion for dance created a connection for self-taught freestyle fanatics Anton Gabutina and Espoir Alpha.
Now a dance duo, the two recently showcased their talents at the Mount Gambier Multicultural Evening with a mix of hip-hop, house, afro, contemporary and various locks and pops.
Starting a new journey together at MJ Dance earlier this year, Anton and Espoir first met around two years ago when refining their skills at Mount Gambier High School.
“I remember we were just doing our own thing, him dancing in his corner and me dancing in mine,” Anton said.
“We realised we both could dance and met up, started talking and made a dance together.
“It just clicked and we understood how we moved.”
Anton said the collaborative dances were about hitting every beat of a song.
“When either of us are out listening to music we dive into the rhythms which gets us thinking about new moves,” he said.
“We then get together at home or at the studio and show each other the dance moves we have come up with and create new choreography from that.
“I want to say our dances are about listening to music for the audience, hearing a certain snap which you have never heard before and us showing you that beat in movement.”
Espoir has lived in different countries his whole life, moving every couple of years or so.
“I was born in Congo and since have moved from Tanzania, South Africa, then Kenya which is where I spent around eight years, Paris and now Australia where we have been for almost three years,” he said.
“We moved from Congo as our country became corrupt from war.
“We needed to move because it was not safe and we kept moving until we felt safe.”
Espoir said while in Kenya he danced at 12 different studios, broadening his experience in the industry.
“I started dancing when I was five and immediately knew I wanted to learn how to do flips,” he said.
“I started doing acrobatics at home but when I moved to Kenya it all started to fall into place when I was nine.
“I did try out a bit of Balinese style dancing but just tried it once as it was not for me.”
Anton moved to Mount Gambier in 2011, following in his mother’s footsteps.
“I just started dancing at home because I had no games or entertainment, just music,” he said.
“I watched all those movies like Step Up and High School Musical and it grew from there.
“It is just fun, I am able to express myself through dancing.”
Anton said he liked dancing as it made people happy.
“I know when I watch say Michael Jackson I get that feeling as well,” he said.
“I particular draw my inspiration from the king himself – Michael and French dancers Les Twins but the list goes on forever.
“I would say I combine most dance styles and make it my own.”
The talented duo have a number of upcoming dance competitions in the coming months and are excited to see where their hobby takes them.
“At the moment I think this is a hobby for us we would both like to see progress into a career,” Anton said.
“I love dancing and I would also like to teach other kids to do what they love.
“Now we are apart of MJ I think these goals are more realistic.”
