Dada was born and bred in Johannesburg, South Africa. She began formal training at The Dance Factory at the age of 11. At the age of 19, she was accepted as a student at the Performing Arts Research and Training Studios in Brussels, where she remained for two years. She returned to South Africa and in 2008, was awarded the prestigious Standard Bank Young Artist Award for Dance. Three commissions from the National Arts Festival resulted in her ‘Romeo and Juliet’ (2008), ‘Carmen’ (2009) and ‘Swan Lake’ (2010). In May 2017, she premiered her Giselle at Dansenshus, Oslo. Since 2012, her works have toured extensively throughout Europe, Northern America and Asia.
Masilo has also collaborated with William Kentridge and has been seen across the world in his Refuse the Hour.
Masilo performs in her own works, together with some of South Africa’s finest dance artists, selected by audition. She is Artist-in-Residence at The Dance Factory.
Awards: 2016 Nominated for a Bessie Award (Swan Lake), 2017 Danza&Danza Award for ‘Best Performance 2017’ (Giselle), Prince Claus ‘Next Generation’ Award 2018.
Dada Masilo
An emblematic figure on the South African dance scene who emerged at the beginning of the last decade, Dada Masilo likes to dust off the classics of European ballet, blithely mixing genres to thrilling effect.
