Harold van Buuren is a South African dancer, choreographer and dance instructor best known as a competitor on two seasons of the dance reality television competition Strictly Come Dancing. How do dancers and choreographers navigate the world of business and creativity?
Lindi Tshabangu connected with Harold van Buuren and he shared some of his insights into the combination of business and creativity. He also shared some of his journey, accomplishments, failures and insights into the world of dance and choreography and share all the details into biggest dance festival in SA – Rumba in the Jungle.
“Dancers are the athletes of God” – Albert Einstein
Behind the dance: A bit of background on Harold: In Strictly Come Dance, the first season he partnered Michelle Garforth. The couple came second to Zuraida Jardine and her partner Michael Wentink. In Season 2 he partnered actress Grethe Fox – they were the third couple eliminated. He is fully trained as a classical dancer and a Modern Jazz dancer, and represented Switzerland at the ‘Festivale Internationale de Danse de Bastia’ in Corsica. The Cream of Europe’s classical companies were present and Switzerland walked away victorious. He was employed as Lead Dancer at the world famous theatre, ‘Le Paradis Latin’, in Paris, France. Harold has been Lead Dancer, Artistic Director and Choreographer of this prestigious theatre for 11 years. In so doing, he has successfully choreographed numerous shows for the venue. He has also done numerous shows with international stars such as Ricky Martin, Boyz II Men, Joe Cocker, Gloria Gaynor, Harry Connick Jr., East 17, Kylie Minogue and many more.
Connect with Harold van Burren – Twitter: @HaroldVanBuuren / Instagram: haroldvanbuuren / Facebook: haroldvanbuuren