Award-winning photographer Alice Mann has been photographing brother and sister ballroom dance duo Tehillah and Corban Anthony for the past nine years. In the most recent installment of the project, commissioned by WePresent, she makes her fifth visit to the siblings, exploring how their growth has stretched their talent into new genres and peering into the futures they want for themselves. Here, Tehillah, Corban and Mann tell Tiyani Rikhotso about their near-decade spent working together.
In 2017, Alice Mann worked at a primary school in Belhar, Cape Town, for “Drummies,” her acclaimed series exploring all-female teams of drum majorettes in South Africa. As part of her work with the school at the time, she was asked to photograph their newly established ballroom dancing team. “I did documentary portraits of all the ballroom dancers, and we played around in little groups in the same way that I had done with the drum majorettes,” she says. She recalls how one duo stood out to her amidst a band of young dancers still finding their feet. “They were completely synchronized,” she recalls, “and looked like they had been doing it for 30 years.”
“When you're young, you don't always know how good you are, and I think they are owning their gift a bit more now.” - Alice Mann
This duo were siblings Tehillah and Corban Anthony. The early images Mann captured of the pair immediately relay the striking confidence and synchronicity that initially caught her eye. “I knew they were quite gifted because, from a young age, they were always moving to the beat of music that played in malls,” says Janine Barends, the pair’s mother. “I’m a singer, so the initial thought was that my children need to sing, and I enrolled them in choir.” But it would soon become clear that her children had other plans. One day, when Janine was collecting them from school, she discovered that Tehillah and Corban, then aged seven and 10, had “deregistered themselves.” “We wanted to dance,” the siblings would later tell her at home, as they explained how they enrolled in ballroom dancing instead.
“They weren’t partners at first,” Janine says. “I saw them dancing at home, and as they grew over the years, I went to the dance coach at the primary school and asked if the two of them could dance together.” Tehillah and Corban’s early insistence on following their interest in dance, combined with their mother’s vision of having the siblings pair up, launched them into the world of competitive dance. Their extraordinary talent would see them take home many first-place wins in competitions across the country, and even perform overseas.
Mann has returned to photograph 4 times since that first meeting, and has seen them both grow over the years. “Tehillah has always had a lot of attitude, and now she really speaks her mind,” she says. “Corban has also just bloomed into such a character. When you're young, you don't always know how good you are, and I think they are owning their gift a bit more now.”
Speaking about what it’s been like working with Mann so intimately over the years, Corban said: “I feel like she’s become a part of our lives,” says Corban. “Taking photos in our first house up until now. I just love experiencing my life through her images.” Mann says that “it's a massive honor and responsibility being invited into someone's space,” highlighting how “it allows people to be very comfortable” and feel “empowered,” which has always been important to her as a photographer.
Tehillah and Corban have not just grown in age—they’ve also evolved their interests within dance. After years of performing as ballroom partners, they’re pursuing their passions for hip-hop and contemporary dance. “Hip-hop is something new for me, and it's something that I want to experience,” says Tehillah, who is particularly drawn to the sense of community she’s found and how the style allows her to express her emotions. “She's the one who's been put in the middle, and she has so much attitude,” says Mann on her experience photographing Tehillah with her dance crew, XO Empire.
Having recently represented South Africa at a competition in Prague, it’s evident she’s thriving with hip-hop. Following her brother’s lead, though, she’s also interested in contemporary dance and has chosen dance as a subject in school this year.
“There’s an intimacy in witnessing someone come of age and become a new version of themselves.” - Alice Mann
As the class of 2025 received their results on January 13th, Corban learnt that he matriculated with a distinction in dance studies. “He’s a proper young man now, and you can see he has trained as a dancer his whole life,” Mann says. “The way he moves is out of this world.”
“Finishing school was emotional,” Corban says, but he’s looking forward to what lies ahead. “This new year, I just want to explore as many things as possible to get me to where I want to be in the future.” This focus is delicately distilled in images taken in his dance studio through each poised and controlled movement. He wants to study dance at the University of Cape Town or Jazzart Dance Theatre in Cape Town, and plans to share his gift on a global stage. “I want to travel the world,” he says, “with what the Lord has blessed me with.”
Considering the myriad of challenges the youth in South Africa face when they are interested in pursuing the performing arts, Tehillah and Corban’s is inspiring. It’s moving to hear how their family and community have rallied to support their dreams, especially the fundraising that has allowed them to participate in competitions abroad. “I want to push them as far as they can go in the arts,” says Janine. “I’m not the kind of mother who needs them to be a lawyer or a doctor. They need to be flippin’ good then, because I always tell them they need to sustain their lives with what they’re going to be doing!”
As Tehillah and Corban have navigated the hardships and joys of dance and young adulthood, Mann’s camera has been a consistent witness. It’s a beautiful story; 10 years on from her first meeting with them, dance is still everything for the siblings. “I’ve always loved this idea of someone knowing from a young age what they want to do, and then them actually finding a way to make it happen,” says Mann. “I have watched them grow into young adults. There’s an intimacy in witnessing someone come of age and become a new version of themselves.”
