Angelo C Louw
Who could have known when this A-student turned down two bursaries after high school to pursue a career in the arts that someday the world would be dancing to his choreography… and that he’d even be nominated for an MTV Video Music Award (VMA)?! Haus of V.I.N.T.A.G.E. Founder Lee-ché Janecke, who kicked off the TikTok dance craze that catapulted Water singer Tyla’s global superstardom, is in the running for the Best Choreography award for Push 2 Start at this year’s VMAs. And while the nomination had never featured in his wildest dreams, success had always been the only option for him.
Lee-ché reflects on coming full circle as the kid who once obsessed with the VMAs to the artist who could go down in history as a winner of the coveted moonman statuette.
AL: It’s been a massive year for you, and now you’re nominated for a MTV VMA?! Did you ever in your life imagine this?
LJ: I was on set shooting a music video in SA when I found out, which is the craziest thing, because VMAs is about music videos! Two of the dancers and somebody who deals with my management came onto set, and kept this information from me, and watched me work the whole time. Then afterwards, they broke it to me. I will not lie to you, when they showed me the receipts, the actual information on the MTV site… I just burst into tears.
When we were working on Push 2 Start, Thato [Nzimande] , Tyla’s creative director, saw me and Tyla in the studio the first time doing the choreography. She took me by the side, she said, “Keeks…” we call each other Keeks, “Keeks, don’t be shocked if that is VMA-nominated.” She said it at the rehearsal already. She texted me an entire paragraph the day after the nomination, basically saying: “I told you!”
WATCH: Tyla – PUSH 2 START (Official Music Video)
I get so emotional because it makes me think of the journey of my life. I remember how I used to commit myself to 3AM SAST to watch the VMAs live, because I wanted to see the performers, I wanted to see who’s doing what. I wanted to see Britney kiss Madonna and Christina Aguilera, I wanted to see Missy Elliott. I wanted to see Michael [Jackson] do his thing. I wanted to see it all right there and then. I used to see choreography a lot, and I used to see amazing pieces of work. Back then, I couldn’t imagine it would be possible for a South African to end up being there, let alone the idea of my own choreography. It’s mind-blowing right now.
The VMA nomination solidifies 15… 16… 17 years of me fighting it out with the church, the community, dance groups… to fighting to be in crews and finding my own crew, to learning through the industry… It changes the whole conversation about who I am in the eyes of the world, and my name as a choreographer, as an African choreographer, as a South African choreographer, and a Coloured man from Bonteheuwel [Cape Town].
AL: I can’t tell you how proud I was when I saw that you hosted a dance class at the prestigious Alvin Ailey dance academy. What was that like for you?
LJ: It’s so insane to me just looking at the story of how that unfolded, because Alvin Ailey’s prestigious. It’s jazz, it’s ballet, it’s modern dancing, and an important African American institution. Nou is ek hier, the African, from the source, teaching a street style. Teaching is something I wasn’t able to do for such a long time. I dedicated the past five years to building an entire scene, you know? I’m in the streets, I’m with the dancers, I’m mentoring the dancers, getting ready to send them out into the world as well. But being able to teach [Alvin Ailey dancers] in such a prestigious space and seeing people from all walks of life was something I couldn’t pass on. This was in New York, I already had a class at the Broadway Dance Centre AND Zero Space NYC in the week… while rehearsing with Mamas [Tyla] for the GOV Ball [where she debuted Bliss]! But I could not turn down the opportunity, even though I needed to get to the airport almost the same time as the class. I remember somebody saying, “Yo, it’s 11:30 in the classroom, your flight is at…” and I was like, “Girl, let’s slot it in even if I have to run.” How could I pass up the opportunity of doing Alvin Ailey?
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AL: When you first hit the scene, you faced a lot of discrimination in the hip-hop space as the Haus of V.I.N.T.A.G.E, yet you guys were in every music video, winning every award. What was it like pursuing your dream while facing that much push back?
LJ: I was in a hip-hop crew before... I think before you met me, before the V.I.N.T.A.G.E. Crew era. Krumping and hip-hop were very much my flavor. That’s my background. I later auditioned for an all-female dance crew called Cadence because they did this feminine thing; that is when I fell in love with waacking. When me and Ashwin started V.I.N.T.A.G.E. Crew via DMs on Facebook, that’s where the waacking and voguing South African male dance crew idea came in. This was nothing that anybody in South Africa knew. It was profound that we were tapping into something brand new, and we were putting it on display in front of South Africa weekly on national TV every Sunday on ETV. I think that’s where people fell in love with us, that’s where people fell in love with me.
WATCH: V.I.N.T.A.G.E. Cru Showreel 1
When we were wearing the crop tops and the thongs and the controversial outfits, we were in our ballroom era, and nobody taught us that until we saw Paris is Burning years later. Then we connected the dots. Still to this day, wherever I go, people are like, “It’s those ones ka [Lee-ché vogues]!” And then they do the hand things, they do the hand things, they don’t even know what they’re doing, but that’s what I’m speaking about. I’m talking about the hoodest of hood person will recognise me for that still until today. Not everyone is going to like your new ideas at the time, but they will definitely remember you for it.
AL: Part of the reason why I put V.I.N.T.A.G.E. on the cover of UNCUT Magazine was because of how upset people were about you winning an SA Hip Hop Awards as a “gay dance crew”. You had people talking, and I believe that that’s precisely what the best artists do…
LJ: I love that, because remember, you were the first one, over 10 years ago, who gave us our first cover as V.I.N.T.A.G.E. Crew.
AL: You’ve gone on to choreograph countless music videos and television productions. What would you say is key to your success, that enables you to keep growing in your artistry?
LJ: You need to be well-versed. Any music genre, any style… feel anything, you’re able to go there, and I think it speaks on me, too. To make you the strongest dancer, is to be the dancer who likes to dance. All of those things. Not just one. If you come into audition and they require modern, go body it. If they require you to do this piece of choreography, and because you had that training in all ways, you’re gonna handle this choreography because you’re well-versed… You’re a feisty gay, you’re at the ball, but you can’t do the street style… And then you do the street style, but then you can’t do professional things that make you look good in a piece of choreography, you know? So I will always say, it’s that thing about being well-versed. V.I.N.T.A.G.E. could do whacking. V.I.N.T.A.G.E could do vogue. V.I.N.T.A.G.E could do house. Pansula. Everything. Hip-hop, locking, popping. That versatility helped me in becoming the choreographer I am today.
AL: It was a huge surprise bumping into you at Joburg Pride last year. I remember when we collaborated on a loveLife Pride campaign and you were attacked at Bree Taxi Rank. Man, we’ve come a long way…
LJ: [The attack] was just something that happened randomly, and it was crazy traumatising. That stain is there forever. It adds to the story now, but when it happened, it was life-threatening. There was a point in time where I stopped going to prides. Last year was probably one of the first I came to… the one where we saw each other was… I was just like: Why do we have to meet only during that moment? Why is there only one day for us to see each other like this? It’s so beautiful catching up with everyone at Pride, but why do we only have one day? And why does it feel like it’s a cage around us? That is our safety net. As soon as I step out of that safety net, then what? As much as I’m more free now, it’s still not as easy as that for everyone. You could get attacked, you could get killed, and you become a statistic. I get going there, and the beauty of it all, and just being able to celebrate with everybody. But as soon as we step out of that space, we don’t know if the tolerance is there beyond the fence.
AL: Part of why I was surprised was because you were touring with Tyla at the time! Where did you even find the time?
LJ: The thing is, these days, I’m just not somebody… even when I’m here, like, when you saw me at Pride… definitely, that was probably one of my last real outings – this whole year. With all the traveling… I haven’t been out, not once. After these projects, I need so much time to recuperate as of late. It’s like so much of myself is being given. And I’m just basically like a Transformer. I basically just sit down, doing absolutely nothing until I feel like me again.
AL: The whole world is dancing to your choreography! How does it feel seeing people from different continents dancing to Water’s choreography?
LJ: It’s funny, I was being forced by everybody in my circles, in every space I was in, to join TikTok. I didn’t want to but people were telling me, “You would make a real killing on there,” and I’m always a late bloomer. This context is important. With water, it was that thing of we knew the song was crazy. Did everybody else know the song was crazy? No. Did we know where it feels like it could go? Yes, we did. And I think there was one night, 10 PM, we were on a call and Tyla was like, “We need something.” I’m like, “Okay, send me the song.” I think an hour later, I sent her a draft and I recorded my TikTok draft. She immediately said, “Post your draft tomorrow, so we can get it started.” And what happened? A year later? Two years later. All of the girlies’ music videos started having it, all of their scenes; as much as they tried to deny it, that’s Bacardi that everyone around the world is doing.
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AL: Surely people recognise you all over the world, what’s it like to be that level of famous? Do they lose their shit when people recognise you?
Yeah, like, I… the thing is… Because I’m so down-to-earth and I’m a people person, I love people. If somebody’s reacting like that in front of me, I’m probably gonna slap the person on their shoulder, and just to try and downplay the moment because I don’t like this thing of, you’re here, and I’m here, you know what I’m saying? People really do have crazy, outlandish moments.
AL: What would you say is one of the craziest things to have happened to you during this era of your life?
LJ: There’s a dancer, his name is Denzel Chisolm. He was in so many music videos and stuff that I loved. He’s worked with the likes of Beyoncé, Janet [Jackson], Ariana Grande, Rihanna, Taylor Swift, Dua Lipa…. And I got to work with him, the first time I went to America. This is how mind-blowing these things are to me. I got to book him for Tyla’s performance at The Voice finale. And it’s like, the same person that you were obsessed with watching on videos, you get to sit on a laptop and go through agency lists and choose that dancer for your own cause. And it’s like, when I saw him, I was like, “Wow, this is crazy.”
AL: If you could work with any artist right now, who would it be and why?
LJ: The first name that comes to my mind is Doja Cat. I love Doja Cat, because she’s just an intentional artist. Definitely Doechi. Beyoncé, of course. If that had to happen, whoa, okay, like, okay, I can end my career after that. But no, I wouldn’t. I value Dua Lipa. I like the people who have intention behind the art. As of late, I’ve fallen in love with the Sabrina Carpenters… I value Chris Brown and Usher. Their style of dance is my arsenal and I can’t wait to tap into that … But then, in the same breath, I also just want to express my work in other ways. I also see myself choreographing a musical or a movie… But the biggest, can I say?
AL: Bigger than Beyoncé?
LJ: No, I mean, nobody can be bigger than Beyoncé, but… the K-pop community, the K-pop markets. Their music videos? The budget, what they put into it creatively. Any one of them, whether the male groups, whether the female groups, that whole market. I can definitely see myself. In there, creating.
AL: For anyone who wants to crack the entertainment world as a dancer, what would you say is most important?
LJ: I see it in the eyes when I host auditions. I look in the eyes first. Because I can see passion in the eyes already. If you’re not passionate about it to that degree that you will fight your whole life and your life journey to make it happen. Then maybe it’s not for you. Even if you’re in a situation where you have no access to anything, like me. Because I’m then the story of… using the last taxi fare, the lastus bread money, the lastus alles. You have to go out there to see, or be seen, or access, or learn. If you want to be stuck in the community. Then be stuck. There’s not always a person who’s gonna find you as the African child in your yard and then they’re gonna put you on stage. It doesn’t work like that. You have to go out there.
The MTV VMAs takes place 8 September 2025 at 2:00 am SAST.
