Dancing with the Survivors
What happens when you give eight courageous breast cancer survivors a glitzy dress, several dance lessons and a handsome man as a dance partner? Absolute magic!
Fred Astaire Dance Studios South Africa held their second fundraising event Dancing with the Survivors in aid of The Cancer Association of South Africa (CANSA) at Avianto in June.
We are proud to say two of our Super Survivors, Lillian Dube and Nqobile Mazibuko, sizzled on the dance floor, just as the other fabulous survivors – Annabelle Lombard, Sandra Casilli, Marcelle Vorster, Petra Nortje, Ilse Pretorius and Etrecua Wentzel – did.
Just under R25 000 was raised and will go to CANSA. You may ask how did this all come about? It started with Veronica Luksich, the Area Developer of Fred Astaire Dance Studios South Africa. A friend of hers had a sudden, rare form of breast cancer, and seeing her friend go through treatment, really hit close to home.
“To educate myself, I went to Flora Clinic and asked doctors and nurses what breast cancer is all about. I heard even more heartbreaking stories, such as husbands leaving their wives after having a mastectomy, while other women felt they were no longer beautiful. I thought surely, there must be something we can do!” Veronica explains.
Veronica was inspired by the Fred Astaire Dance Studios throughout the USA, who team up with The Pink Fund organisation, and held their Dancing with the Survivors event. And, so the first South African Dancing with the Survivors took place in 2015, where
R31 000 was raised for CANSA. Unfortunately, in 2016 – the event was cancelled as there was no venue available but luckily this year, Avianto was generous enough to allow the use of their splendid venue.
The Fred Astaire Dance Studios that took part were Krugersdorp, Pretoria East, Kempton Park, Northcliff and Roodepoort. A professional instructor was paired up with each of the survivors. The survivors were taught a specific dance for several weeks leading up to the event.
Nqobile danced the East Coast Swing with Marco Venter, who was also Marcelle’s dance partner performing the Rumba. Shaun Prinsloo and Annabelle danced the Foxtrot. Norman Marshall and Sandra exhibited the beautiful Argentine Tango. Darryl vd Linde and Petra performed the elegant Waltz, while Bertus de Klerk and Ilse did an energising Mambo. Dominic Belloni and Etrecua displayed the astute Tango, and Peet Pienaar and Lillian danced the Cha Cha.
Veronica thanks the sponsors: Fred Astaire Dance Studios South Africa, AM Printing, Amor la Vie, Clavelle Hair, Avianto, Café Fleur, The Closet Club, Ryan Hammond and Angelique Allison, Matt Stern, Angelique Smith, Kadosh Magen, Buddies for Life, Salon Annique Krugersdorp, Sportcon, Aroeka Health, Satiskin, JB Train Tours, Hirsch’s, Puréau Water and Pure Romance.