Oaklands ballerina ready to compete

Hurwitz was inspired by her mother, Nadine Sacker, who sparked her passion for dance and was a former principal dancer with Pact Ballet.

The 17-year-old Hurwitz’s passion allowed her to achieve a number of great feats at a young age.

Hurwitz has been performing with Joburg Ballet since 2013 as a dancer with the Corps de Ballet, the dancers who do not perform solos but rather as a group, in numerous ballets such as La Bayadere and Swan Lake.

In 2014, Jessica was awarded a scholarship to attend the American Academy of Ballet annual summer intensive programme in New York for five weeks.

At the East Rand Dance festival last year, Jessica was awarded runner-up for the national set dance as well as runner-up for the national championships.

In addition, she won the trophy for her improvisation and most outstanding performance at the Ballet Festival in Johannesburg, was awarded the prestigious Shield Scholarship award at Concours de Ballet, and she also participated in the Prague Award held at the Artscape Theatre in Cape Town last year.

Along with writing matric, this year Hurwitz will be participating in the fifth South African International Ballet Competition and performing in Gisele with the Joburg Ballet, among other things.

Commenting on the competition, councillor Garreth Bloor, Mayoral Committee Member for Tourism, Events and Economic Development said, “While ballet is a highly technical form of dance it is also an art combining grace and movement. As such, it has the power to draw audiences in and provide, not just entertainment, but is a window into the world of theatre, music and dance.

“Ballet is often the foundation of many other dance genres.”

Hurwitz is taking her passion far beyond any geographical boundaries and is sure to be one to look out for in the ballet world, in the near future.

Details: www.ctibc.com