Our Team – Igugu-lethu Arts & Leadership Project

Resident faculty

Meet the team that makes the magic happen

Olwethu Katase

Founder and Artistic Director of Igugu-lethu Arts and Leadership Project

Choreographer

Creative Dance, Contemporary, and African Contemporary Dance Teacher

Kamohelo Mabogwane

English Development Teacher

Mahle Dlambulo

Trainee Dance Teacher: Contemporary Dance

Artistic Director of Igugu-lethu Arts Movement

Kyle Linde

Yoga Instructor

Lee-Anne Dangatya

African Dance Teacher

About us

Olwethu Katase

Olwethu Katase (she/her) is the Founder and Artistic Director of the Igugu-lethu Arts and Leadership Project, as well as an artist, choreographer, and qualified educator. Born in Gugulethu, Olwethu was introduced to the broader spectrum of the arts through her training at Dance for All, then based in Gugulethu. She was then scouted by celebrated ballet teacher Sanette van der Mescht and, as such, is classically trained in ballet, having passed her Cecchetti ballet exams, where she obtained an Advanced Diploma Certificate. Her extensive training at the University of Cape Town (UCT), where she graduated with a Dance Teacher’s Diploma in 2013 from the School of Dance, has helped broaden her knowledge of the arts and deepen her love for transferring this knowledge and experience to her community and the artistic sphere at large.

She taught at Chris Hani High School as part of her teaching practice and later worked at the Dance for All outreach programme in Khayelitsha and Nyanga. From 2014 to 2015, she worked at several organisations including the South African Environment Project (SAEP) and Ikapa Dance Theatre, and she performed with the Indoni Dance, Arts and Leadership Academy. She has been working as a specialist creative arts dance teacher at the Western Cape Education Department since 2016, teaching dance at various schools in Cape Town including Turfhall Primary School, Rosmead Central Primary School, Good Hope Seminary High School, Rhodes High School, Chris Hani High School, and Groote Schuur High School. In 2019, she obtained a Post Graduate Diploma in Education from the University of South Africa, specialising in English, isiXhosa, Life Sciences, and Life Orientation teaching.

Internationally, Olwethu has taught at the San Francisco Ballet School, Alonzo King Lines Ballet, and ODC, where she was the first recipient of the African Exchange Dance Scholarship in 2018. In 2022, she was selected by UCT to represent South Africa at GLOMUS in Aarhus, Denmark, and she was invited to teach masterclasses at the Danish Royal Academy of Music (Det Jyske Musikkonservatorium). Olwethu graduated first class for her Honours degree in Dance at the Centre for Theatre, Dance, and Performance Studies at UCT in 2023, receiving widespread praise for her thesis and dance production.

Kamohelo Mabogwane

Kamohelo Mabogwane (she/her) is the Project Manager and English Development Teacher at Igugu-lethu Arts and Leadership Project. She is a published writer, editor, and literary and gender scholar. She achieved a master’s degree (summa cum laude) in English language and literature at the University of Cape Town (UCT) and received the National Research Foundation Master’s Innovation award. She obtained her Bachelor of Arts degree in English and Philosophy at UCT in 2017 and an honours degree in 2018 at the same institution. Her honours thesis was commissioned and published by the Imbiza Journal for African Writing in 2021.

She has been a fellow of the prestigious Klaus-Jürgen Bathe Leadership Scholarship (inaugural cohort), the Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellowship, and the Social Science Research Council. She has attended and presented at various conferences both nationally and internationally, including at Emory University in Atlanta and Columbia University in New York. Kamohelo served as the co-ordinator of the action research project of the Young Wom?n’s Leadership Project at UCT.

Mahle Dlambulo

Mahle Dlambulo (he/they) is the Trainee Dance Teacher in Contemporary Dance at Igugu-lethu Arts and Leadership Project and the Artistic Director of Igugu-lethu Arts Movement. Born and bred in Gugulethu, his love and passion for the arts has shaped the majority of his life. He began his dance training at Igugu-Lethu Arts and Leadership Project in 2016 under the mentorship of Olwethu Katase and studied dance at Chris Hani High School, earning the school’s only distinction in the subject at matric level. His dedication earned him a scholarship to attend the virtual Alonzo King Lines Summer Intensive Program of 2021. They were awarded an in-person fellowship to the 2022 Summer Intensive in San Francisco. Now a working artist and choreographer, Mahle is studying Applied Pedagogy and Gender Studies at the University of Cape Town.

In 2025, they directed, choreographed, and performed in “Umzimba”, Igugu-lethu Arts Movement’s debut production. They have also performed in several productions including Figure of 8’s “Maze of the Mind” (2024), Olwethu Katase’s “Umoya” (2024) and “Umanyano Arts Festival” (2023), Maxwell Rani’s “Land of Khinyinyi Reimagined” (2024), Freddy Nyezi’s “Yinto Yangasese” (2023), and many more. They have also (co-)choreographed dance pieces such as “Rise Up” (2020), “Time Lapse” (2023), among others. Mahle aims to combine the knowledge they gain from their Applied Pedagogy and Gender Studies to create art with meaning, and to bestow the expertise they have honed over the years to enrich future generations of artists.

Kyle Linde

Kyle Linde (he/him) is the Yoga Instructor at Igugu-lethu Arts and Leadership Project. He is driven by self-expression and self-discovery through the exploration of different artistic media, finding the authentic connectivity that links it all together: synergy. Kyle is navigating the journey of unlearning hegemonic patriarchal notions of being a male, queer, Cape coloured of Khoi descent living in democratic South Africa and how this hybrid identity informs and transforms his artistry. He began his dance training at the Eoan Group School of Performing Arts in 2008 and graduated in Dance Studies at the University of Cape Town’s School of Dance in 2015. He is currently working as a dance teacher at a high school in Cape Town. Though he predominantly works in the medium of dance, his interests also lie in yoga instructing (for which he is qualified), modelling, roller skating, and fashion. With an eye for innovation and creativity, his wish is to combine his knowledge and experience in these areas to deliver the best creative platform to his learners, clients, and their audiences.

Since graduating from UCT, Kyle has been cast for several commercials, fashion editorials, and three movies that were shot in Cape Town. In 2018, he choreographed and showcased at the 14^th annual Baxter Dance Festival and worked among many great choreographers, dancers, and artists. In his latest work, “Riding in Sugar,” he featured as a dancer in a movie with renowned choreographer Lorcia Cooper.

Lee-Anne Dangatya

Lee-Anne Dangatya (she/her) is the African Dance Teacher at Igugu-lethu Arts and Leadership Project. Born and raised in New Cross, Cape Town, Lee-Anne’s interest in dance stems from her very early childhood years at primary school. She was always dancing at school events and competitions and was encouraged by her teacher to join a dance group, which led to her receiving professional training and support.

After finishing matric, she worked as a freelance artist, collaborating with many groups and performing at several corporate events and festivals such as the Grahamstown Festival, where she performed with the Rainbow Arts Organization. Lee-Anne has also worked in commercials and was selected as a dancer and choreographer for the production ‘Mama Africa’, which celebrated the life of Miriam Makeba. Internationally, Lee-Anne has performed in China with Izizwe Dance Group.

Over and above her incredible talent as an African dancer, she is well-versed in playing the marimba and drums. Lee-Anne loves performing and sharing her knowledge of dance and music to the younger generation.