The World Hip Hop Championship competitors may find themselves hanging up their shoes, when they see South African Justin William Mancer, 27, take to the floor.

Representing South Africa, he will be competing in the locking dance division, at the championship and world battles taking place this week in San Diego, California, USA.

Currently making waves in Los Angeles, Mancer is no ordinary scholar of dance. Unlike most who start training from an early age, he schooled himself by hanging around studios and mirroring professional dancers when he was just three years old.

Natural talent and determination motivated his acceptance into the Waterfront School of Dance, Cape Town, where his abilities were nurtured to the fullest from 2010.

Having achieved extraordinary proficiency in ballet and hip hop, Mancer has not limited himself to those genres. He has since studied other mediums of dance, such as jazz, contemporary, adagio and Latin American, plus thrown in a bit of acting and voice training.

No stranger to the spotlight, Mancer will certainly have an edge on his competition. He has garnered a certain level of confidence over the years, having starred in principle roles in the theatre, and on stage, in productions such as What Happens in Vegas review show and Queen at the Ballet international and national tour.

If Mancer appears familiar to you and you are not a frequent theatre patron, it could be from spotting his performances on SA’s Got Talent in 2013 where he made it to the finals on television. Mancer also scored himself a supporting movie role in The Raven in 2009.