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FOR many in Toronto, the Christmas holidays would not be the same without catching a performance of Tchaikovsky’s The Nutcracker ballet performance.
Last Thursday, Uitenhage-born Tanya Howard, the first soloist ballerina of The National Ballet of Canada, danced the role of Snow Queen in the opening scene of this sold out performance in Toronto.
In her younger days she trained at The National School of the Arts in South Africa before joining Canada’s National Ballet School and then moved on to The National Ballet of Canada during 1998. In 2007 she was promoted to first soloist.
This former Riebeek College learner in an interview with The Company said, “ To me, anyone who can make it happen for themselves is a hero.
“I think you are successful if you can undertand and appreciate your achievements without depending heavily on recognition.”
Tanya’s repertoire includes various principal casting roles such as Alice and the Queen of Hearts in Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland, Lilac Fairy in The Sleeping Beauty, Stepsister in Cinderella, Paulina in The Winter’s Tale, Summer and Autumn in The Four Seasons, La Rose in the world premiere of Le Petit Prince, Snow Queen in The Nutcracker and the female lead in Voluntaries.
She has received various international awards for the dramatic excellence in ballet.
She is the daughter of Johnny and Glenise Howard of Uitenhage.
