Sheila Camerer Appointed as Patron of Cape Town City Ballet

Camerer, a long serving former member of parliament and South African Ambassador to Bulgaria, is delighted to be of service to the company. "It is an extraordinary honour to be appointed Patron of this wonderful Cape Town institution in its 80th Anniversary year ", she said.

She further added that it is a particular pleasure for her to follow in the footsteps of CTCB's former patron, the late Adelaide Tambo. "We met the first time in 1993 when sitting next to each other at a performance of Haarlem Dance Theatre in Johannesburg."

During her acceptance speech, Camerer acknowledged the significant role of Cape Town City Ballet in the community, with particular reference to the company's association with extensive outreach programmes through the Amy Biel Foundation, Zama Dance in Gugulethu and the Jikileza Project in Hout Bay. In terms of international recognition and collaboration, Camerer also shared in the excitement of CTCB's recent announcement that it will be staging three ballets by the world-renowned ballet choreographer, John Neumeier, in September.

In closing, Camerer pointed out the demands on CTCB to sustain its high level of performance and the urgent need for substantial extra funding. "It will be my pleasure and honour to play an active role in assisting with this in the year ahead", she concluded.

Cape Town City Ballet proudly launches its 80th anniversary celebrations with the performance of two spectacular ballets at the Maynardville Open-Air Theatre. The Firebird and Les Sylphides are presented every Sunday from 26 January until 16 February.

Seen in the photo with Sheila Camerer is Xola Putye and Kim Vieira who will dance the lead roles in The Firebird and Angela Hansford and Daniel Szybkowski who will be partnering in Les Sylphides.

All performances start at 20h15 and bookings can be made at COMPUTICKET or Artscape Dial-a-Seat on 021 421 7695.