History
The Zama Dance School Trust grew out of
one woman's drive to teach ballet to underprivileged children
matched equally by patron Raymond Ackerman's desire to nurture
their careers in the arts.
"Zama students come primarily from disadvantaged backgrounds.
In their principal, Arlene Westergaard, I found a woman
who through sheer guts and determination was teaching these
kids to express their joy, their anger and their emotions
through the mediums of dance and music," says Ackerman.
Westergaard has put heart and soul into living her dream
since 1984 when she left the jazz dance centre she ran in
Cape Town to work with African children. A dancer from the
age of three, Arlene says she had always wanted to work
with underprivileged children and began by asking the Department
of Race Relations to find her some students.
She was given six children, one of whom had a father who
was a minister in a nearby township, Gugulethu. He became
interested in what they were doing and, surprised to learn
that township children were keen on classical dance, offered
them the use of the church. Once the pews were pushed back,
it made space for once-a-week classes for 56 students from
Nyanga, Khayelitsha, Langa and Gugulethu ranging in age
from five to 19.
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Within a year, classes were held five days a week and Westergaard
was teaching full-time. To support herself, she sold her
house, invested the money and lived off the interest until
1990 when she persuaded Dr Dulcie Howes and Raymond Ackerman
to be the school's patrons and Pick n Pay to become its
major benefactor.
Almost immediately, Ackerman established a trust to ensure
a long-term future for the school and its students. Although
there is a nominal tuition fee, those who cannot afford
to pay are granted bursaries.
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Zama's aim is to change
children's lives for the better... we are committed to continue
doing so as long as we have the parents' blessings and the
limited financial backing to feed and enrich our school
with the essential basic needs," said Westergaard.
Foreign embassies and large corporate companies have sponsored
individual projects. Extra funding is needed for ballet
shoes, clothes, tights, tracksuits and transport to competitions
or outside events.
Westergaard adopts an holistic approach
to the children's development — nurturing them until
they complete Grade 12. Classes are taught after school,
based on a unique syllabus especially designed for children
from level one to level four, after which students follow
the Vocationally Graded Syllabus of the Royal Academy of
Dance (RAD). They also study Martha Graham contemporary
techniques and attend weekly mime and stretch classes. Students
are examined on their ability annually for which they receive
a certificate, report and medal. They have a consistent
100% pass rate, completing internal examinations on theory
and practical work and external Vocationally Graded RAD
classical ballet practical examinations.
Students participate in dance festivals and eisteddfods
wherever possible to get exposure and to meet other dancers.
After completing matric, they have the opportunity to further
their training by studying for dance diplomas and degrees
at other institutions.
Nandipha Gogela
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Zama Dance School was the first black classical ballet group
to perform at the Grahamstown Arts Festival in 1985. They
were a hit but people questioned why black dancers were
doing classical ballet instead of their own kind of dancing.
"I wanted to show people that African children can do classical
ballet. I'm sick and tired of hearing people say, 'but they
haven't got the feet for it... they don't have the physique...
it's not in their culture... how do they listen to the music?'
What a load of codswallop. Zama encourages growth and development.
We don't think in a box.
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"What we're doing by going to Grahamstown is saying just
look here, look at what these children are doing and think
about it; wipe out those preconceived ideas of yours," says
Westergaard.
At that time, countrywide civil unrest disrupted performance
opportunities and class schedules but Westergaard still
tried to teach every day and had to get a special permit
to travel into Gugulethu. "Usually we would be having a
class when a child would run in and suggest I leave quickly
as things were hotting up around the church area," she says.
Westergaard recalls the day that Ellen Mpetha, granddaughter
of African National Congress activist Oscar Mpetha, was
late for class. "When she arrived she told me she had been
washing off the blood of her friend who had been shot."
Westergaard says Zama aims to develop choreographers, dancers
and teachers with a sense of team work, self-discipline,
pride and achievement.
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All the children have stories to tell... Nontle Monde blossomed
from runaway child to confident, talented dancer. Mamela
Nyamza was sent to class to keep her off the streets. There
wasn't money for ballet clothes so she danced barefoot in
her bathing costume. She now performs and choreographs internationally.
In 1997, at the age of 20, Nyamza was the first South African
woman to receive a scholarship for Alvin Ailey American
Dance Theatre in New York. "Without the training in strength
and technique I learned from Arlene, I don't think I would
have been chosen for Alvin Ailey," she says.
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Monica Maxengana
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The same year, Zama graduate Andile Sotiya received a scholarship
from the Rudolph Nureyev Foundation for what was then the
Ballet Rambert dance school. This came after he and Nyamza
had completed three-year national dance diplomas on scholarship
at the Pretoria Technikon.
"Historically, ballet in our country has been a mostly white
cultural activity and it's especially important to try and
change township parents' minds about this," says Sotiya.
He lives in the UK, where he takes on choreography work
and is a resident lecturer at a college.
"Just to think back to our meagre beginnings in the church
in 1984, who would have thought that all our dreams would
one day come true?" asks Arlene. "To think that Andile,
who studied motor mechanics at school, will not have to
lie under cars in overalls dipped in grease... instead the
grease will be on his face in front of floodlights of professional
stages with big audiences applauding him."
In May 1999, Zama Dance School's new school premises were
opened in Gugulethu, custom-made with the help of Pick n
Pay. "I expect Zama to continue to grow... to continue with
its excellent standards of dance and hopefully to produce
many more students following in the footsteps of star pupils
like Andile and Mamela," says Ackerman.
The current student complement is about 80. Zama continues
to grow and produce exceptionally talented dancers like
Patrick Mngeni, Mantu Jakavula and Songezo Mchilizeli, who
are making waves in the field of the arts.
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Kadar Asmal, Arlene Westergaard and Raymond Ackerman
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Board of Trustees
Raymond Ackerman, Arlene Westergaard, Alan Odes, June Hanks,
Dr Malcolm Sandler
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