Top honour for ballet four

Four of the finest students from UCT's School of Dance received the news recently that they had passed the Royal Academy of Dance's highest exam - the Solo Seal Award. Trained and coached by Dianne Cheesman, head of the UCT Junior Ballet School, and Professor Elizabeth Triegaardt, director of the School of Dance, the dancers completed the exam, which has been described as technically challenging while focusing on the performance and artistry of the dancer. Only senior dancers of a high standard who are about to launch their careers as professionals or have just launched their professional careers are eligible to take part in the world-wide organisation's exam, which is accepted by all international ballet companies.

Pictured above from left are: Melanie Seeger, Simone Muller, Prof Elizabeth Triegaardt, Dianne Cheesman, Marli Muller and Laura Bosenberg. Muller and Bosenberg have already launched their professional careers - they dance for the Cape Town City Ballet (CTCB).

And in other ballet news, UCT alumnus Robin van Wyk has landed the lead role in the School of Dance's end-of-year production Showing Off - 70 years On! where he will be dancing the role of Petrouchka. So enthused with his new role, Van Wyk has decided he is not going to rely solely on his fifteen-years' experience as a professional ballet dancer and has asked CTCB's artistic director, Veronica Paeper, for extra coaching on top of the scheduled rehearsals with Triegaardt. UCT's Showing Off - 70 years On! opens at the Baxter Theatre on October 28 and tickets can be booked at the Baxter or through Computicket.