Keoikantse Motsepe Honored To Be On Dancing With The Stars (New Interview)
“Someone different, competing their first time, why not? A different color. Anything’s possible in life,” he says. “You just have to believe and have faith and hope. That’s what I tell Lolo every day.” ~Keoikantse Motsepe
What a wonderful piece at the New York Post on Keoikantse Motsepe. He talks about Dancing With The Stars and how honored he is to be doing the show. He also chats about Julianne Hough and his partner Lolo Jones!!
“Me being the first black, non-white dancer in the show, obviously there’s something special about me, there’s something the producers saw,” Motsepe tells The Post. “I’m very honored and feel very blessed about that. For me it’s about making history in my life and making history in the world.”
Motsepe, an avid fan of “Dancing,” says he was only partially surprised it’s taken so long for an African-American professional dancer to be cast in a show that has often had African-American celebrities as competitors.
“The other day I was in tech [rehearsal] and a guy goes to me, ‘Wait, are you doing ‘Dancing With the Stars?’ He said … ‘Now I’m going to start watching.’ If one non-white person can think like that, the word-of mouth is the biggest tool in the world.”
Motsepe has had to adjust to the challenges of dancing on TV — having to think about costumes, lighting and camera angles instead of just fancy footwork. But he says Jones has brought her athlete’s work ethic to early practices.
“This competition is very healthy and very strong,” he says. “We just want to have fun for the first day and see how this goes. Everyone has something different about them — there are people who have rhythm, people who are fast, people who have funny ideas or sexy ideas.”
This season also brings the return of former pro Julianne Hough, who will be a judge on the show. Motsepe knows her from the ballroom dance circuit and expects she will be a fresh addition to the panel. “Julianne being in the show is going to add a little bit of spark, which is good,” he says. Motsepe also hopes he can follow in the footsteps of Hough, who claimed the “Dancing” trophy in her first season as a pro.
“Someone different, competing their first time, why not? A different color. Anything’s possible in life,” he says. “You just have to believe and have faith and hope. That’s what I tell Lolo every day.”
For the full story, see New York Post.
What an inspiration. This article just makes me love Keo even more.
“Someone different, competing their first time, why not? A different color. Anything’s possible in life,” he says. “You just have to believe and have faith and hope. That’s what I tell Lolo every day.”
You said it Sandy!!
The article brings up a good point about Keo being the first black pro. It made me wonder if that will factor into the voting at all and give Keo and Lolo a boost.
I am definitely liking this guy. He is new to the show but he gets what it is. You go, Keo!
My crush on Keo continues to grow. 🙂 Love this guy. Hope he and Lolo work hard and have fun and are very successful.
Butterfly Whirl,
It might, but it’s no different than people voting for Bristol, Candance or Kurt Warner for being Christian Conservatives. I am in New York and during Amber’s season a local radio station would give out her voting number ALL WEEK LONG telling listeners to “help her make history on the show. There’s never been a black female to win before.” They added that they thought Sherri & Wendy were “voted off early because they are opinionated, strong, black women.” Everyone has their reasons for voting….some don’t involve quality of dance or the journey 🙁
Heck, people are already posting disappointment in Sadie for doing they show and asking, “What does Phil think of this.” LMAO….I’m pretty sure he knows 🙂
People are always going to be opinionated or show favoritism over one race than another; but, thank the good Lord there are those who can look past color and see beautiful!!!!
It’s nice to have such a nice, genuine new addition to our cast of Pros. Can’t wait to see what kind of goodies Keo comes up with for him and LoLo. I think they will “bring it.”
@Lex, I don’t have a problem with it – I was just speculating if it would have an impact. I realize it probably had an impact with Amber winning, and, since I was rooting for her, I’m quite happy with the votes she got, whatever she got them for.
Since I’m enjoying Lolo and Keo, and since it seems she has some dance ability, I’d like them to stick around. The article just brought up a point that I hadn’t really thought about much, in terms of how it might impact the voting this season.
That’s a gorgeous picture of Keo & Lolo!!
I’m so happy for him & that DWTS has finally brought in an African/man of color as a pro on their show. He seems very humble/confident & passionate too. I bet he’s an amazing performer!!
SOOOOO Excited to see him create & perform this season.
Welcome Keo!!!!
I’m really impressed with how Keo has been presenting himself with all the media coverage and attention.
Whoever on the staff had the idea of hiring him as a pro deserves a raise or at least a nice little bonus!
I am excited about Keo i have to say. Have seen some of his dance videos and he is steamingly passionate. And you can see he loves to dance from the way he moves and interacts with his partners. I think he may bring a new vibe and much needed variety to the show. He seems genuine as well in his reactions. His first meet with Lolo is priceless.
He seems absolutely lovely. Can’t wait to see them dance and hope they last a long time on the show. I also hope Keo is not a one season pro.