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Following her victory at the South African Music Awards (SAMAs), where she called upon African artists, including Makhadzi and Babalwa M, to join her on stage, Tyla took time out of her busy schedule for a meet-and-greet with her fans, known as Tygers, on Sunday, 16 August. From face paint to a neon photography room and merchandise of their favourite global star, Tygers were spoilt for choice at Gold Reef City.
Ubuntu (humanity) in true South African fashion
Not only were December Skhoshana and the rest of the dance crew members spotted happily taking snaps with fans, but choreographer Le Che was interacting with the Tygers and even signed a few autographs - moments that can best be described as Ubuntu-coded. We caught up with the 2026 Standard Bank Young Artist Award Winner for Dance, who shared what these homecomings meant.
“I grew up with the people, I’m here because of the people. The same person I’m giving an autograph to today is the person I was when I didn’t have an example of this years ago. Like Tyla said, she’s the first person of her kind because she didn’t have that example. I come from the people, I connect to the people, I am the people.”
Le Che felt humbled by witnessing so many Johannesburgers coming together, and even more so the Tygers who flew in from other parts of the world to enjoy this moment, as this speaks to the impact of the work he and Tyla have been doing. Proof of this impact was in how the audience was a cocktail of people of various age groups, cultural and gender identities.
“I’m feeling the energy immediately after the SAMAs last night. This is everything we needed to continue feeling stimulated to continue expressing ourselves and share our cultural identity with the rest of the world,” he said.
Unpacking his SBYA win, the internationally acclaimed choreographer said it was very important to be celebrated at home by his own people.
“Without home, what’s the point? I can’t go out into the world to sell them something they are already used to. I’ve been to other countries but South Africa is the best country in the world. You would not get this kind of energy anywhere else,” he said.
For Le Che, who doesn’t mind being called Litchi, home is what grounds him and makes him who he is.
Giving back
The event was in partnership with Absa and the Department of Tourism, and Minister Patricia de Lille was also in attendance. The department said it wanted to create an immersive tourism experience that showcases the intersection of entertainment, culture and the visitor economy, leveraging the influence and global appeal of major South African musicians such as Tyla.
Tourism gave event access to 200 students currently pursuing their studies in industry-related courses such as Tourism and Hospitality Management from various tertiary institutions including the University of Johannesburg, Eduvos, the Swiss Hotel School, Rosebank International, Capsicum Culinary Studio and the Soweto Chefs Academy.
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