Dancing to world fame
Uitenhage mom stars in famous ballet company
FROM kicking and screaming at a ballet studio when she was just four years old, former Uitenhage pupil Tanya Eichvald has glided and spun her way to be first soloist at the National Ballet of Canada Academy (NBCA). Eichvald, 36, recently completed her latest performance as first soloist for the NBCA’s production of Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland which took place last month at the world-class Four Season’s Centre in Toronto.
It was demanding, with Eichvald saying each performance from April 14 to April 29 was the biggest challenge of her career.
“It’s a very large production that requires 71 dancers and the lead is on-stage dancing for almost three hours,” she said.
“I thoroughly enjoyed discovering all the magic this character gets to realise as the story unfolds.
“Once you have rehearsed and prepared and then you get out on a big stage and entertain an entire audience, it’s great.”
The mother of Lia, 6, and Benjamin, 3, has been a full-time dancer with the NBCA since 1998.
She joined the company after completing a year-long scholarship which she received from the academy’s artistic director, Mavis Staines.
Since 1998, she has performed in several productions for the academy, including the lead in The Four Seasons, Voluntaries , Balanchines and Don Quixote.
“I have been very fortunate to have danced many wonderful roles. With this company I have toured to New York, Washington, Los Angeles and most recently Ottawa,” she said. “Obstacles have always included injuries. “Maintaining a positive attitude can also be difficult. You don’t always get the role you dream of but you still have to go in to work and sometimes still be in the production and give it your very best,” Eichvald said.
Her mother, Glenis Howard, 63, who still lives in Uitenhage, said: “She is a very strong person and has always had a big sense of determination and hard work, which is why she is where she is.
“We are immensely proud of her.”