Born and talent-nurtured in Zamdela Sasolburg, Johannes Radebe started dancing at the tender age of 7, fascinated by the discipline and the glamour of Ballroom and Latin.
Over the next 13 years, Johannes competed in local competitions working himself up the Latin ranks, with top honours, eventually adding ballroom and different dance styles like African Contemporary and Jazz to provincial colours for Gauteng, being a finalist at national dance competitions and getting an invitation to compete internationally in St Petersburg, Russia.
At the age of 21, Johannes left the shores of South Africa to work on the internationally renowned Italian cruise liner ‘Costa’. Travelling the world and doing what he loved opened up a whole new perspective on what life could hold for him. Persistence and experience saw this young, vibrant South African given more responsibilities including choreographing, teaching new dancers, and then eventually being promoted to Dance Captain.
After an exhilarating two years of travelling the world and showcasing South African talent at its best, Johannes desired to return home. When the offer came to join the 2018 debut season of the international hit show Dancing With The Stars in South Africa, it was an opportunity he simply could not refuse. The debut season of Dancing With The Stars was a massive success and once again threw Johannes into the international spotlight.
Johannes toured the world in International dance show Burn The Floor before being head-hunted by Strictly Come Dancing in the UK and moved to London to dance on the flagship BBC show. From the first series, the audience loved him and on his second series he was lucky enough to be partnered with Catherine Tyldesley and also dance the first same-sex routine with fellow Strictly star Graziano Di Prima. His Red-Carpet Routine in heels sent the nation crazy. The following season, he danced with Caroline Quentin and reached week 7 in a shorter BAFTA nominated season. In 2021, he was partnered with John Waite and they took the nation to their hearts – reaching the final in this groundbreaking same sex partnership. Johannes and John won ‘Media Moment of the Year’ for their stunning series at the LGBT Awards, the ‘Game changer Award’ at The Attitude Award. Johannes was awarded ‘The Inspirational Public Figure’ at the Ethnicity Awards.
Johannes’ 2022 season was with actress and comedienne Ellie Taylor, reaching week 10. It was a joyous partnership and another firm favourite with the Strictly fans. The most recent season saw him reach the Semi-Finals with Tennis player and presenter Annabel Croft. Their partnership touched the Strictly audiences and their couples choice will go down in Strictly history.
His debut solo UK Tour Freedom and follow up show Freedom Unleashed sold out across the UK including a week in London’s West End at The Peacock Theatre.
Johannes was honoured to be invited to Buckingham Palace to give the keynote speech for The Duke of Edinburgh Awards Scheme, on its first garden party to award the Gold Award winners since the pandemic. He returned to the Palace after a personal invitation from King Charles III and The Queen Consort to The State Banquet for The President of South Africa – a true honour for a boy from Zamdela. in 2024, he was honoured to meet Queen Camilla again alongside Volunteers from The Royal Voluntary Service – where he taught them to dance and presented her majesty with a pair of tap shoes.
ITV’s Loose Women made him an honorary Loose Man for their mental health awareness Loose Men Episode alongside Vernon Kaye, Roman Kemp and Mike Tindal. He was made a Judge in the Hello Inspiration Awards and featured on their Digital Cover. He was also a cover feature on Attitude Magazine with John Waite in 2021. In 2024 he returned to Loose Women on the panel for their first Loose Men / Loose Women show.
Other TV appearances include Celebrity MasterChef, The Christmas Celeb Sewing Bee (Winner), The Graham Norton Show, Saturday Mash Up Live, The Hit List, Saturday Kitchen, Morning Live, Steph’s Packed Lunch, The One Show, Lorraine, This Morning, Drag Race, I Like The Way You Move and BBC Breakfast.
2022 also saw his film choreography debut with the feature Pretty Red Dress (Teng Teng Films, in collaboration with the BFI, BBC Film, and the Sundance Institute) which premiered at London Film Festival. In 2023, he also was asked to be a Co-Producer on the Olivier nominated – A Strange Loop at The Barbican.
His first book Jojo: Finally Home was published on 7 September 2023 and became an instant Sunday Times Best-Seller. It was recently announced that South African film company Arrested Industries run by Anthony Kimble, and Oscar nominated Helena Spring Films, have optioned Jojo: Finally Home for a film, with further details to come!
