A mother who wants her daughter to excel as dancer sought relief in the Western Cape High Court where she fought for R51,000 child maintenance which she claimed it would allow her 14-year-old to attend a new dancing school.

The mother, whose identity has been withheld to protect the privacy of her daughter, lives in Hermanus with her child who was described as an exceptionally talented dancer after attaining several dance achievements.

According to court documents, the teenager represented South Africa at the 2024 Dance Star Competition in Croatia.

Due to her daughter's talent, the mother filed an urgent application so that her daughter can start attending a new dance school before classes commence on January 20, 2025.

She claimed the school she is currently attending in Hermanus is no longer a suitable platform for her to showcase her dancing skills. These views were apparently shared by the child and the teacher.

In her view, the only suitable dance school that would provide her daughter with international exposure, is Prestige Dance in Somerset West but the distance from Hermanus makes this dance school unsuitable. Hence, they have to move to Green Point and be closer to the school.

She added that her daughter had already been accepted at the school where fees are R15,000 every month.

According to her calculations, she will need at least R51,000 every month. This amount includes R22,500 for accommodation, R15,000 for school fees, and R3,000 for transport amongst other things.

Moreover, she added that if her daughter loses the opportunity to join the dance team this year, it will have negative impact on her future as she would have been robbed a chance to realise her dreams. She argued that her ex-husband has a duty to maintain their daughter and has to pay the increased maintenance requirements.

The mother further argued that the father can afford to pay the increased maintenance because when they divorced in April 2021, he earned over R100,000 per month after deductions. Outside of work, she claimed he had funds which were in crypto currency and a property portfolio which included properties in Stellenbosch.

Explaining her financial circumstances, she said she earned R6,000 per month from a cleaning service, and she also received a monthly R30,000 from the divorce settlement but all the money went into maintaining herself.

She said she had no choice but to file an urgent application because her ex-husband failed to respond to her letter sent on December 23, 2024, where she explained everything regarding their daughter and her needs.

In his reply, the father said the application was not urgent and it was just an attempt to compel him to increase child maintenance by more than R44,000 without going through the maintenance inquiry conducted by the maintenance court. He currently pays a monthly R7,000 and also covers all his daughter's needs.

According to him, the urgency was self-created because the ex-wife knew about the dance school Since September 2024, and they met as required by the parenting plan to discuss the possibilities of their daughter changing schools.

He said they had to attend a mediation process regarding the new school, but the mother abandoned the process mid-way and brought an urgent application two weeks before the commencement of the 2025 school year.

Furthermore, he claimed his ex-wife was unhappy with the divorce and this was her way of taking a second bite at the cherry rather than approaching the maintenance court.

Judge Mas-uda Pangarker was in agreement with the father regarding the self-created urgency and added that looking at the timeline, nothing stopped the mother from approaching the court as far back as September or October, but she failed to do so.

"She effectively waited more than three and a half months before approaching this court...Her failure to approach the court at that stage, alternatively, delaying the matter for months and waiting to approach the court until a few days before the commencement of the 2025 school year, I hold the view that urgency was self-created," said the judge.

Judge Pangarker dismissed the application.

However, she ordered that the child’s best interests, particularly in relation to the relocation from Hermanus to Cape Town with the intention of changing of schools, be assessed as soon as possible by a professional.

sinenhlanhla.masilela@iol.co.za

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