As of: April 9, 2024, 8:14 a.m
By: Jonas Erbas
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“Let's Dance” juror Motsi Mabuse is now one of the most popular RTL stars, but her path to the top was by no means always easy.
Cologne - The “Let's Dance” expert on the RTL dance show gives no indication that Motsi Mabuse (42) has had a rocky career: In a good mood, the native South African has been delighting people with her open-minded, humorous nature for almost 15 years now at the side of jury boss Joachim Llambi (59). But things weren't always so cheerful in the 42-year-old's life.
Long before “Let’s Dance”: Motsi Mabuse took big risks for her career
In front of and also off camera, Motsi Mabuse knows how to entertain the "Let's Dance" viewers very well - as a juror, but also as a dancer, for example when she shakes her own leg during the commercial break in the Cologne studio. With all the charisma she brings, you could easily forget how much blood, sweat and tears lay behind her rise to RTL stardom.
Motsi Mabuse took a courageous step at a young age - and dropped out of her law studies in South Africa to concentrate on her dance career: “It was very risky, actually. Because I emigrated to Germany alone when I was 18. “I had to start from scratch,” she recalls in an interview with “Exclusiv Weekend.” The pressure was great: “I was one of the first dark-skinned girls to emigrate from South Africa. “I didn’t want to come back as a loser – only when I had achieved something,” said the TV celebrity.
“Let's Dance” star Motsi Mabuse is committed to children in South Africa
Her courage ultimately paid off: Motsi Mabuse, as is well known, rose to become one of the most sought-after professional dancers in Germany - a career that paved the way for her to appear on “Let's Dance” in 2007. First as a dancer, then from 2011 as a juror. Of course, the 42-year-old still carries her homeland in her heart today and visits it regularly. In Johannesburg she is involved in a leisure facility that offers disadvantaged young people a refuge during the day.
Motsi Mabuse also gets involved personally and even gives dance lessons on site from time to time. She wants to show children “that you can achieve something with talent” - and perhaps encourage some people to put their own dreams into action, as she once did. The RTL show also recently made headlines: security had to intervene during the “Let's Dance” commercial break.
Sources used:
“Exclusiv Weekend” (RTL/RTL+; edition from March 7th), rtl.de