Local dancer talks about hanging with Mr and Mrs Smith

PROFESSIONAL hip-hop dancer Tumi Tladi counts Hollywood glamour couple Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith among his friends.

Tladi, 20, stars in a music video featuring the couple's children, Trey, Jaden and Willow - who are due to visit Cape Town with their parents in December.

The video, Find You Somewhere, was shot in Los Angeles last month.

Tladi, who lives in Honeydew, north of Johannesburg, had been in Los Angeles only a month when he was spotted by US dancer Cedric Gardner and selected to feature in the video.

The South African dancer had arrived in the US in August to perform at the annual Los Angeles Carnival Choreo-grapher's Ball.

Gardner, a dancer on the hit TV show So You Think You Can Dance , introduced Tladi to the Smiths, who were searching for dancers for the music video, directed by Pinkett Smith .

Speaking from LA on Wednesday, Tladi said he was "star-struck" when he met and chatted with the Smiths.

"They kept asking me questions about myself, South Africa and why I was in LA," he said, adding that Smith told him about his love for and fascination with South Africa.

"They have visited often ... and are planning to visit again in December," said Tladi.

During the shooting of the video, Smith visited the set.

"It was amazing," said Tladi, who was surprised by Smith's "humble" demeanour.

"He's such a huge star, yet he's so humble. While I was star-struck at first, it later felt normal being around them.

"You get really used to them and the funny thing is that they had no bodyguards whatsoever."

Smith, who was named the most powerful actor in Hollywood by Newsweek after all his movies grossed $5.7-billion in global box office, is worth an estimated $215-million, according to Forbes magazine.

Tladi said when Smith visited the set, he would have the dance cast in stitches with his antics.

"He was just really funny, cracking jokes all the time. His laugh is funny and his jokes were so corny.

"We cracked up because his laugh is so contagious," he said.

The video, which was shot in an abandoned building in downtown Los Angeles, opens with talk of text messages, moves into people dancing in a club and features Jaden rapping and Willow performing ballet.

Tladi, who will remain in contact with the Smiths through his US manager, Christian Gutterre, has made it onto the celeb family's "dancers' list".

"While I will return to South Africa soon, I am on their dancers' list if they ever need a person like me again."

He also struck up a friendship with Jada's niece, Jade Pinkett, 19.

"I got to dance with Jade in the video and we became friends. She will also dance in my piece for the LA Carnival. Jade and I have been in contact since we met on the set.

"She's toured with Willow countless times, so it's a real honour to have her in my dance piece."

Tladi added: "We do party together, time to time."