Alumni spotlight: Lethabo Monametsi
- Wits Alumni Relations
Wits alumna and South African Latin dance champion has joined the professional cast of the 24th season of BBC’s Strictly Come Dancing in the UK.
Lethabo Monametsi (BA 2026) says she first watched the South African version of Strictly Come Dancing as a teenager with her family. Little did she know that she would one day step onto the floor of the programme that inspired her. Recently she has joined the professional cast of the BBC’s dance show and is one of five new dancers chosen for the 24th season.
“This moment is bigger than me,” Monametsi says. “I step into it with profound gratitude and deep humility, knowing it is the culmination of years of unwavering love, belief and support from the people who dared to dream with me.”
Monametsi is an undefeated South African Latin champion who represented the country at the WDC Amateur Open World Championships in Ireland. She won the SABC 1 television dance competition Dance Yo Dumo as a member of Urban Wave, performed on The Masked Singer South Africa, and has shared the stage with international artists including Diana Ross and Hans Zimmer.
She started dancing later than most professional dancers and recalls the moment she entered the studio: “Even though I started dancing at the age of 13, I knew immediately that no matter what, I would push myself because I found the love of my life.”
She says her selection for Strictly Come Dancing came as a total surprise. A producer discovered her work on social media and contacted her by email. She says she wondered, at first, if the message was genuine, and made sure to verify the details independently.
“Representing South Africa on the Strictly Come Dancing stage is far more than a career milestone,” she says. “It is an honour beyond words, and I cannot wait to embrace every extraordinary moment of this journey.”
'Wits broadened my lens'
She credits the University’s education and community with helping to shape the person and professional she is becoming. At Wits she majored in law and sociology and received the Harry Frank Prize, which is awarded to an outstanding law student in the “Law of Persons” course. She also became a member of the Golden Key International Honour Society.
“Being at Wits broadened my lens and deepened my understanding of what it means to be a black African woman in modern society. It awakened me to my sense of self. Through the law, sociology and politics courses, a deep understanding of black consciousness grew in me, and that has fundamentally changed the way I view myself and the world,” she says from London, where Christmas decorations have already popped up around her.
“I sat at the front of the class for almost all my courses, and my lecturers eventually knew me by name. I remember how difficult it was to leave political studies behind as I transitioned into my final year of BA law – if it were up to me, I would have majored in both sociology and politics.
“I would say that Wits conscientised me. It taught me to look beyond myself,” she says.
Monametsi has managed to balance her university studies with the demands of a professional dancing career with apparent ease. In addition, she's established an outreach foundation. Through the Gaopalelwe Foundation, she supports artistically gifted young people from underserved communities. The organisation equips the youth through arts education, business and financial literacy, and holistic wellness programmes.
“Without the intellectual groundwork Wits gave me, I do not think I would have founded the foundation,” she says.
“The breadth of knowledge and perspective I gained at Wits also opened doors far beyond the University. In 2024, I was selected as a Global Changemaker, becoming one of 50 young people from across the world chosen to attend the Global Youth Summit in Cape Town. I was also recognised by She Millionaire as the Outstanding Young Woman in Performing Arts and Social Impact.
“When I look back, I realise that my time at Wits did not simply prepare me for a career in law. It gave me the language to understand the world around me, the courage to question it, and ultimately the conviction to play a role in changing it.”