Leading his life as if it’s a dance, Paul Modjadji never stops moving.

If he’s not leaping on the stage, he’s whirling through writing his next script, or soaring through roles as a choreographer, entrepreneur and social activist. Inspired by films like Sarafina and Fame, this dynamic 33-year-old from Temba township won a scholarship to study dance in Denmark, before returning to work on the local soapie, Backstage.

After studying Journalism and Media Studies, he started his entertainment company, Imvula Pula. He danced his way onto global stages, winning both the European DanceStar World Masters in 2011, and top dancer in the world for the Talent America Showcase in 2013.

In 2015, he was selected for a Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders, which led him to rub shoulders with officials in the White House. Despite his international accolades, he remains dedicated to Africa, choreographing South Africa’s first made-for-cinema dance movie, Hear Me Move, in 2014.

He also founded the Dare to Dream Movement, a project that aims to empower young people by providing arts education to townships, both locally and on the continent.

With creativity being the catalyst for his own success, Modjadji believes art can change the world, and that communities need art to express their truth and heal.

|Don’t quit because it’s hard, quit because the passion is dead.|