Diane Fincham-Hurlin - An ex-dancer herself, Diane performed professionally for some 15 years, appearing in over 48 musicals, including appearances on Rhodesian and South African television, was a member of the Bulawayo City Ballet Company, performed with Merle Park and Judith Reyn, both principle dancers at the time with the Royal Ballet, danced in pantomimes, the original Jazzart Company under the direction of Sue Parker and toured South Africa with Brickhill Burke Productions.
Diane matriculated in Bulawayo. In 1970 she was awarded the Bulawayo Ballet Bursary from the Bulawayo Ballet Society headed by Vida Twell, mother of the well known ex CTCB dancer Olga Twell, to study at the UCT School of Dance, then under the direction of Dr. Dulcie Howes.
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Janice Tighe - Having matriculated in 1990, Janice decided to pursue her love of dance and enrolled at the University of Cape Town’s School of Dance where she graduated from the Teachers Training Program with Distinctions in choreography, contemporary dance and dance teaching methods. She went on to qualify as a ballet teacher for the Royal Academy of Dance and continued to study further to obtain her Advanced Teachers qualifications in modern dance from the A.I.D.T. and a folk dance teaching qualification from the ISTD.
Taking up an employment offer from the Canadian branch of the AIDT, Janice traveled to Canada where she spent seven years working as the Artistic Director of Gemini Dance Studios, teaching and choreographing for the school’s Performing Arts program.
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Denise Morrison - Denise started dancing at the age of 5 and received extensive training in Tap, Ballet, Modern and Scottish dancing from an array of the finest teachers of the time – Isabelle Mayberry, Anna Nell, Marjorie Sternum, Poppy Frames and Jose Orlandini.
After matriculating in Gauteng and having qualified as a Tap, Modern and Ballet teacher, Denise ran a successful and enterprising dance academy “The Turning Point”, together with Rosemarie Middleton, an acclaimed Gauteng teacher. Denise was the Ballet Mistress and shared the Tap and Modern commitments. The “Turning Point” is still running successfully today, although under new direction. While still in Gauteng, Denise was part of a team who started the “Roodepoort Dance Festival” which too, continues to thrive to this day.
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The TDA Syallabi
Training a child on a specific dance syllabus prepares the child for dance, but does it give the child all the necessary tools to become a performer? Does it challenge their artistic expression or only their technical ability? In order to achieve both, learning a dance syllabus must be an educational journey and not simply a technical overload. It must be a pathway to the stage or a dance company.
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What We Offer
Theatre Dance Association is a Teachers Association! We offer an exciting and stimulating syllabus in Modern, Tap, Hip Hop and more recently Ballet & Spanish, including Performance Medals in all dance disciplines. We host many inspiring and exclusive courses, workshops, conventions, performing opportunities, competitions, lectures and events for teachers and their pupils throughout the year. Members receive many perks and reduced prices to all local, external and International events.
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Why The TDA
Excitement is building in the entertainment industry and our country is the focus! International casting teams are constantly in SA, recruiting potential child stars whose auditions encompass acting, singing and dancing. Sifting through thousands of ‘hopefuls’ to find the right combination of performer remains challenging! Major American movie companies are building movie studios in our cities as we speak. The opportunities available today for children / teens in the entertainment industry have never been so exciting and dancing is at the forefront of it all.
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