VSouth Africa's proudest mom, Odessa Swarts, will be joining Thembisa Mdoda, Frank Opperman, Juanita De Villiers and Liesl Laurie as the next celebrity to shake it up on the dance floor in M-Net's all-star, glitzy new local series Dancing With The Stars SA.
Odessa, who originally hails from Cape Town, is best known because of her track star son Wayde van Niekerk's fame as a World Record holding - and breaking - athlete. However, long before Wayde was on the scene, Odessa was also lauded for lighting up the South African athletics world, having competed provincially as a track-and-field athlete in the late 1980s and early 1990s. She too broke a number of sporting records, and will no doubt be determined to light up the gleaming dance floor in 2018.
Being no stranger to competition, Odessa says that she is extremely excited to be dancing against her fellow celebrity cast members. "I always wanted to learn how to Tango and Salsa but with raising kids and the years flying by so fast I never got to it," she reveals. "My kids are now all grown and I want to see this as my time to learn new things! I have loved the international seasons of the show and always wished that I could be part of something like that... so this is an absolute dream come true!"
Who else will join the eclectic and diverse group of stars to take centre stage? And who will the esteemed panel of expert judges be on the series? More information will be released in due course.
The series, in which 12 untrained local celebrities will put their best foot forward with the help of highly skilled professional Latin and Ballroom dancers, will commence on M-Net (DStv 101) on Sunday 4 February 2018.