Wheelchair-dance couple prove they' ve got talent

Shahied Johnson is tripping the light fantastic - in his wheelchair.

The Capetonian is on the road to fame alongside his able-bodied partner, Aimee Johnson, and tonight they appear in the television show SA's Got Talent.

The couple, who are not related, are bound to charm the judges with their cha-cha-cha, jive and Latin American moves. Competing alongside them are sumo-wrestler dancers and an electrifying-zombie dance trio.

Shahied, 43, may not be able to lift Aimee, but he can certainly spin and tilt his chair to the side.

"I would love to sit in the chair and hold her up in the air, but it's quite difficult. I would love to someday just pick her up and spin her in the air, but she is too scared and so am I," he said.

Shahied, a switchboard operator at the Twelve Apostles Hotel near Camps Bay, was born with spina bifida, a developmental congenital disorder.

He said he loved dancing after watching a cousin who is a ballet dancer.

"I wanted to do ballroom dancing, but there wasn't a section for physically disabled people. I like the way they dance and throw their bodies."

About 12 years ago, Shahied belonged to Saint Giles sports club for the physically disabled, where he did powerlifting and wheelchair basketball.

"That is where I met Aimee, who visited the club with her dance coach. We gave dancing a try," he said.

Shahied said Aimee taught him posture and how to move. "Before that, I had no idea how to dance."

The couple danced together for four years before Aimee stopped dancing for eight years.

Two years ago, they teamed up again. They decided to take part in SA's Got Talent to show the world that there is hope for disabled people.

Aimee, 27, started dancing at the age of eight and by 14 she was introduced to disabled dancing. "Shahied and I had a few training sessions and hit it off immediately. We started dancing together in 2003 and have been successful," she said.

In 2005, they represented South Africa at the World Cup Wheelchair Championship in the Netherlands, where they were ranked 11th.

They have been crowned Western Province champions and South African champions in the wheelchair ballroom and Latin American dancing.

Aimee, who also competes with able-bodied partners, said it was a big change for her.

"With my able-bodied partner the male leads, but now I lead.

"At the beginning it was quite strenuous and challenging, but I learned to teach myself how to move around with the chair and how to get the chair to turn in a certain angle, and how he could move his body to make it easier for me. We are excited to be on television and want to promote the sport," she said.