GULUVA was not exactly a John Travolta in his heyday, but he could dance many people out of existence.

Nicknamed "Rubber Man" because of his extraordinary elasticity and unmatched agility, the immensely talented Guluva could seamlessly execute Michael Jackson's "Moon Walk" just as easily as he could do the jitterbug - exactly the same way as it was done by the original outies of Sophiatown many years before.

He could switch from breakdance to ballroom dancing with relative ease. He loved performing complex pantsula dance moves, just as he enjoyed partaking in the indlamu Zulu traditional dance.

Although age has inevitably caught up with him, Guluva still has traces of his remarkable dancing prowess that could make even the likes of Shakira stand up and take notice, even if he were to say so himself.

He bets Mzansi's modern-day dancers such as Chomee and Mshoza could learn a thing or two from his artistic wizardry, which will, if you think about it, be a good thing for them as far as the skills transfer initiative is concerned.

However, the lack of diversity in the industry these days has prompted Guluva to seriously consider moonlighting as a dancer on the local party scene.

He reckons there is money to be made there.

He has been further encouraged by the news that Dikeledi Mahlangu, the MEC for health and social development in Mpumalanga, is running a dance competition under the banner: "MEC's Competition", which recently made its debut in her hometown of Tweefontein, a disadvantaged area in KwaMhlanga populated mainly by the elderly.

The fact that the dance competition is curiously being rolled out at the same time as her party - the Ain't Seen Nothing Yet - is preparing for the local government elections is immaterial and does not bother Guluva one bit.

But if the R250 cash the MEC presented to 81-year-old pensioner Meshack Shabangu for winning the first prize in the competition's inaugural edition is the going rate these days, Guluva is afraid he will have to put his triumphant return to the dance floor permanently on hold.

Penny drops

Still on the entertainment front, it would seem that Ain't Seen Nothing Yet's unwritten plan of forming its own musical band is neatly falling into place.

The Machine Gun Man, who popularised the old struggle song Umshini Wam' on his way to the Union Buildings after his acrimonious and bruising battle with the Tobacco Pipe Smoking Intellectual, has already proved to be a very capable lead singer.

The musical credentials of his chief induna, performance monitoring and evaluation minister Collins Chabane, are also well known, especially in marimba circles.

The project is likely to be boosted by the entry into the political space by one Eric Nkovane, otherwise known as Penny Penny, a once popular Shangaan musician.

Penny Penny is at present engaged in a bitter two-way fight to wrestle control of the Ain't Seen Nothing Yet's July Mawewe branch in Mopani district, Limpopo, in the forthcoming local government elections.

After several years in the musical doldrums, you can say that Penny Penny, Ain't Seen Nothing Yet's wannabe councillor, now really wants to sing for his supper.

Email Guluva on: thatha.guluva@gmail.com.