DANCE

DANCING SISTERS

Our front cover features Cherise and Keryn Wallace who enchanted audiences in the recent Shall We Dance programme of Ballroom and Latin American Dance.

Cherise and her partner Troy are the current Federation Dance Association Adult Gold Latin Champions for Natal.

`Adult champions', mind you, and Cherise is only nine years old!

She started dancing about two years ago with her teacher, Desire‚ Smith from Smith's Dancing School. She also enjoys swimming and modelling and younger sister Keryn shares her love of swimming.

"Cherise started dancing when she was six," says her mother, Estelle. "Keryn just followed her. She's six years old and has only been dancing for three months."

TWINKLING

Obviously the two have inherited their twinkling feet from Estelle and her husband Neil who enjoy social dancing.

"Cherise and Keryn dance all the time," Estelle says. "They enjoy music - especially pop music and Latin American. They like pretty clothes and really love people. They're very outgoing children. I always call them extroverts - they like being the centre of attraction!"

With an elder brother of 18 who "spoils them dreadfully", Cherise and Keryn Wallace can be assured of continuing to attract a great deal of attention through-out their growing - and dancing - years!

MARITZBURG DANCE

Pietermaritzburg balletomanes can look forward to a programme by the Play-house Dance Company which includes several pas de deux from Giselle as well as the four fairy solos and the Puss in Boots pas de deux from Sleeping Beauty.

The company will give three perfor-mances from April 4 to 5 at Pieter-maritzburg's Hexagon Theatre.

Also in the programme is international choreographer Royston Maldoom's Adagietto No 5, which was first performed in South Africa by the Dance Theatre of Harlem in 1992 and won the Gullbenkian Award in Berlin, the Seventh International Choreographic competition in Paris in 1975, and the Foundation of France prize.

PRABHATI

Gerard Samuel's Prabhati is set to music of the same name composed by Ravi Shankar and Yehudi Menuhin. Mark Hawkins, artistic director of the Playhouse Dance Company, will restage his 4 for 7 and Janet Smith's popular Muddy, to music by Muddy Waters, makes up the contemporary section.

Not forgetting their Durban audiences, however, the company will present an open rehearsal of this season at the Playhouse on April 2 at 18h00.

SUPPER DANCE

Starting from April 11 at 19h00 it will be possible to dance the night away or just enjoy the evening at the Italian Club, Fairway, Durban North (next to Beachwood Golf Course). Cost is R30 per person (including a light meal). Dress is smart casual. Enquiries to Eddie Yeadon on 207-2424.

CHOREOGRAPHY GRANTS

The Vita Young Choreographer grants, made jointly over the past three years by FNB Vita and the Foundation for the Creative Arts, are intended as an incentive for committed, creative young South African choreographers, enabling them to develop their talents further.

This year FNB Vita is partnered by the Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in making two grants of R10 000 each to be used by the winners to create new danceworks for the 1998 FNB Vita Dance Umbrella.

1997 winners are Vuyani G Maqoma of Moving into Dance Company, and inde-pendent choreographer and dancer David Gouldie, one-time member of the former Napac Dance Company who has worked with the Playhouse Dance Company.

WILD X-POSURE

The current show at the Wild Coast Sun, X-posure, pays tribute to great moments of movie magic. Dancers include choreo-grapher Deidre Hancke-Haysom and George Mckop, who will be remembered by Wild Coast Sun audiences for his performance in Skin Tight. Other cast members are Amanda Ramsey; Bryan Mynhardt, 1990 world freestyle dance champion; Melanie Amas; Claire Edwards, and Sume Lotter.

X-posure

ends on April 27.

STOP PRESS!

Congratulations to dancer Ebraham Medell for winning the 1996 SAA Young Artist Award, a week after winning the FNB Vita award for the most oustanding male dancer for 1996!