Award-winning Dancer, Choreographer Dada Masilo Dies At 39

Internationally respected Soweto-born dancer/choreographer, Dada Masilo tragically passed away on 29 December 2024 after a brief illness.

She was 39.

The recipient of many local and global awards, including an Italian lifetime achievement award for classic and contemporary dance in September 2024 at the Premio Positano Leonide Massine for the Art of Dance, Masilo began her meteoric career at the Dance Factory in Newtown, Johannesburg in the 1990s.

Born on 21 February 1985, Masilo first came to the attention of the dance industry as an 11-year-old in 1996, when she was invited to dance for Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands.

She was educated at the National School of the Arts in Braamfontein, matriculating in 2002.