During the thrilling final episode, Nkosana and fellow finalist Andrew MacDonald set out to dazzle the judges one last time, each pulling out all the stops with two dance performances designed to blow them away. Andrew scored an 8.3 and 9.3 average, with Nkosana trailing slightly with an 8 and 9.3 average.
Nkosana Bembe was declared the winner of the debut season of SABC1’s Dance Your Butt Off on Tuesday evening 05 Jan 2011, jiving off with a cool R100 000 in cash.
However, when it came to the final weigh-in, Nkosana had the edge – he had lost a massive 29.8kg during his three months in the house, bringing his weight down from 102kg to 72.2kg, while Andrew had shed an impressive 28kg, going from tipping the scales at 112.5kg to a far more svelte 84.5kg.
Both guys, however, feel they are winners regardless of the final outcome. They became firm friends while in the house and constantly pushed and motivated each other to achieve their personal goals.
“The most difficult part of the competition was the emotional part, being in the same place and doing the same things for three months,” says an elated Nkosana. “The exercising wasn’t a problem for me, but the dancing put me on the spot. Luckily I had a great choreographer and dance partner who pushed me to give it my best and believe in myself – to the extent that I was confident enough to dance without my T-shirt in the final!”
He says both he and Andrew realised that “we were working towards the same goals and challenging ourselves, not anyone else”. “I would like to get into giving motivational talks and aerobics classes, to show people that it’s not easy to lose weight but if you put your mind to it, you can do it,” Nkosana adds. “It’s more about your mind than about your body.”
From flab to fab, these two guys – and the other 10 contestants – have shown just what can be accomplished if you put your mind to it. And they’ve entertained Mzansi fo sho viewers all the way while shaking and rattling their rolls on Dance Your Butt Off!