Leona Dean

General information

Leona Dean, a practising Attorney, Bachelor of Arts Alumnus, and Bharatha Natyam graduate, has along with her team of astonishing dancers taken South Africa by storm and earned their place as one of the best modern Indian dance groups in the country.

Since establishing the Leona Dean Dance Academy in 1994, Leona Dean has taken the South African Indian dance scene to a whole new level, leaving audiences spellbound through her unique combination of drama, designer costumes and colourful props.

Her work over the years has contributed to the development of Indian dance whist sustaining culture within the community, and thus earned her several awards, one of which being the Indian Cinema Centenary Award for her contribution to the entertainment industry in South Africa.

Leona and her team of dancers earned critical acclaim following their performance at SAIFTA (South Africa India Film and Television Awards) in 2013, where they also had the opportunity to share the stage with Bollywood stars such as Priyanka Chopra, Madhuri Dixit, John Abraham, Dia Mirza and Suniel Shetty to name a few.

Leona Dean in the past choreographed and acted for popular playwrights Ronnie Govender and Essop Khan, and since, enjoyed huge success with her own productions “Bollywood Goes South” and “Ticket to Bollywood” which were staged at Sibaya Casino and Entertainment Kingdom and “Muthu’s Café”, “Radio Gaga” and “Stand Up & Dance” staged at Suncoast Casino and Entertainment World. The sold out shows featured her sensational team of dancers alongside renowned stage personalities Muthu and Sagie Murugan, Mervyn Pillay, Neville Pillay and Anasia Govender offering the audience an unforgettable experience.

Leona Dean offers dance classes on a Monday at the Merebank Community Hall, Tuesday at the Woodhurst Multi-cultural Centre, Wednesday at West Park School in Malvern and Thursday at the Shree Mariammen Temple Hall in Mount Edgecombe, from 18h00 to 19h00.

The Leona Dean Dancers can also be hired for any event, simply email the date, time and venue of your function to leonadean@telkomsa.net