Savannah to compete in international comeptition
Fifteen-year-old Savannah Ireland from Bedfordview has been selected to compete in the fourth South African International Ballet Competition.
The competition, supported by the National Lottery Distribution Trust Fund, is due to take place at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town, from February 18 to 23. Savannah has been trained by her mother Natasha Ireland, a former member of PACT Ballet and the Sandra Carstens School of Ballet. As preparation, Savannah received additional training for the competition from Anya Carstens, a former principal dancer, Iain MacDonald and the artistic director of the Joburg Ballet. She will perform the famous Kitri variation from Act III of Don Quixote, as well as the variation performed by Dulcinea in Act II of the same ballet. Savannah is also a member of Joburg Ballet’s Academy, having started her ballet training when she was five years old. She has passed all her Royal Academy of Dance examinations with distinctions and is currently a Level 1 student. In 2013, she won the RAD’s central Gauteng vocational bursary for advanced foundation level.
