Paul Modjadji

Paul Modjadji is a dancer, choreographer, writer, author, social developer and entrepreneur. Though he grew up in a community he describes as having no resources for a rambunctious young person who wanted to dance, act and express his creative talents, the young Modjadji learned to use family gatherings as a platform for him to share his creative talents and the television as his training studio to hone his skills.

It was thanks to hit television movies Fame and Sarafina that the young Modjadji first made sense of exactly where he wanted his life to go. Modjadji remembers years of being the only person in his class who did not want to be a doctor, teacher or policeman.

Modjadji's future in the arts was sealed when he scored a scholarship to attend the Dansevaerkstedet Dance Foundation in Denmark, straight after his matric year. His passion for dance and story telling through the arts later caught the attention of the Washington DC based Global Young Leaders Congress, who awarded him with the Global Young Leaders Award in 2002.

After a year in Denmark, Modjadji returned home to study with the Tshwane University of Technology Dance Department. In his second year of studying Modjadji auditioned and landed a role on the popular South African Youth Soap “Backstage”, where he was offered a yearlong contract. Being a cast member of the popular series was the first of many dreams realized for the young South African talent with global aspirations.

In 2006, Paul begun juggling his passion for dancing with writing. Securing his first television-script writing job with one of the Public Broadcaster DIY shows “Iketsetse”. In 2008 Modjadji was commissioned by the Department of Arts and Culture to oversee the choreography of South Africa's presentation at the IBSA summit in India. Giving him an opportunity to work with Brazilian and Indian dancers.

In 2012 Modjadji became the first South African young artist to win the South African Youth Award, for the Arts and Entertainment category.

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