Are you too old? At 16, most definitely not. (Though I think I should warn you that we have some of the most talented young latin dancers in the world. Some of these kids could dance before they could walk )

How do you get noticed? Simple, you have to start competing in competitions sanctioned by the amateur controlling body of South Africa, FEDANSA.
At these competitions you will compete against other graded and ranked dancers. You will also be judged by qualified judges who usually hold ISTD qualifications (Licentiate/ fellowship/ etc.). You will have to start at the beginner or bronze level like all other dancers. It's only by peforming well at these competitions that you can gain points that will allow you to be promoted to the next grade.

You cannot compete for the South African national amateur title or "world trial" amateur titles unless you are an open syllabus dancer. That means you must be, at the very least, a novice grade dancer. You are a long way off the target at this point. Its going to take you at least a year or two to get to the open syllabus level, assuming that you have some natural ability and are willing to work hard.

The first thing you should do is find out from your teacher if he is able to prepare you for "competitive" dancing as defined by the official South African dancesport associations. In your case this is FEDANSA. (Dancing in a social dance competition held by the local dance school may have its merits but you want to take the sport a little more seriously).You may need to join a "competitive" school to learn the stipulated syllabus figures allowed in the particular grades and the technique of how to dance them correctly.

E-mail me (Lenn@uskotec.com), if you don't know where to find the competition calendars and other important information concerning dancesport in South Africa. There are a few websites that have a more local flavour and content that provide this sort of information. I will give you these links. You will also find a list of teachers and schools on these sites.

Take care,
Len.