While news of Dada Masilo’s death continues to send shock waves through the dance community, those who knew her have shared their memories and paid tribute to an incredible talent whose passing is a great loss to the community.
The dancer and choreographer — acclaimed for infusing ballet classics such as Swan Lake and Giselle with African dance — died on December 29 after “a brief illness”.
Masilo’s cousin, Phindile Ngene, shared details of her unexpected death, revealing that she had been experiencing gynaecological problems and had undergone surgery. However, complications arose a day after the operation.
“We were called to the hospital and told her organs are shutting down. They had to do another operation. She was not talking or doing anything. The hospital tried their best to rescue the situation.
“She suffered in ICU for about two weeks.”
Ngene described Masilo as a vibrant and active person who was always looking forward to her next project. He and the family are trying to come to terms with their loss, but take comfort in knowing Masilo’s legacy will live on.
“She thought it was going to be a once-off thing and she would be out of hospital. It’s unfortunate because she was a very active girl. We are trying to cope. Dada did a lot for this country. I am praying and hoping the youth will take her legacy to the next level. She travelled all over the world, contributing and representing the country very well. I know she had a few classes for kids, so I hope the kids will cope and take her legacy forward.”
Masilo is remembered for her bold and fearless approach to dance, continuously pushing boundaries, reinterpreting classic ballets and embodying respect for tradition.
At the time of her death, Masilo was working on a new autobiographical solo piece about the loss of loved ones, which she excitedly discussed with friends and colleagues.
Singer and composer Ann Masina, who worked with Masilo on several occasions, said they shared a sisterhood until Masilo’s last breath.
She spoke of Masilo’s commitment to her craft that kept her spirit burning, even while she was in hospital.
“Before she was admitted, she called me the day before, speaking about her autobiographical solo work. She was giving me hints about the work because she wanted me to be part of it. She was so excited. She said when she came back from hospital, we would start workshopping the work. She wanted to tell the world about the project, and this happened.
“She was very positive talking about the work, our sisterhood. It was like she was saying goodbye because we started talking about our memories and the work we’ve done together. As I sit here recapping, I think she was saying goodbye.
“She was a beautiful, incredible talent that was larger than life. Dada always told me she liked breaking boundaries, she didn’t like to conform to rules and regulations and that’s why her productions were always intriguing. She also wanted to make people aware that it’s not only a slim body that can dance or move. It is all types of bodies. She was a force to be reckoned with.”
With a career spanning more than two decades, Masilo earned many local and global awards, including the prestigious Premio Positano Léonide Massine for the Art of Dance in 2024.
Writer, director and dancer Gregory Maqoma, who was among the renowned artists who paid tribute to Masilo, recalled meeting the then 13-year-old at the Dance Factory in Newtown, Johannesburg where her career began.
“The passing of Dada Masilo marks the loss of an extraordinary artist who revolutionised the world of dance. With her fearless creativity, she redefined classical forms, merging them with African traditions to create profoundly moving works that challenged conventions and celebrated humanity.
“From her early brilliance as a prodigy to her status as a global trailblazer, Dada’s legacy is one of bold storytelling, transformative artistry and unwavering advocacy for social justice. Though she has left the stage, her spirit lives on in the countless lives she touched and the indelible mark she left on the arts.
“Her rise was not slow, but meteoric. At just 16, she astonished the world with a solo I choreographed that was based on a poem she wrote, Invoking the First, in Diane von Furstenberg’s New York studio. In that small yet luminous space, she unveiled a ferocity and grace that defied her years, a performer as fearless as she was poetic. This moment marked the birth of a star who would soon become a constellation.”
Robyn Sassen, a dance critic who followed Masilo's career, shared many thoughts on her journey in dance.
“I first encountered Dada’s work when I was one of the judges in the Gauteng arts and culture MEC’s awards for contemporary dance in 2006, when she won the most promising female dancer award. She was about 19 or 20 at the time. I couldn’t believe what I was seeing. She danced like a dervish, with an unbridled sense of joy that was visceral,” she said.
“I only got to meet her a few years later at the National Arts Festival in Makhanda, when she was the Standard Bank Young Artist for Dance, and got to know a young woman who was quick and bright, but endearingly coy. That was across a coffee table. On stage, she was fiercer and bolder than ever.
“The loss of Dada to the dance industry in South Africa, and the world, is irreparable, but it is at this point that she becomes legend: in only 39 years, she was able to take stories as big as Shakespeare’s work and make them her own and African. Unapologetically and forever.”
The family will hold a private funeral and burial and a memorial service is planned for next week in Johannesburg.
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