Board Members:
Themba Ngada (Chairperson) is an accomplished Communication and Marketing Practitioner with 23 years in Print Media Reporting and Writing, Public Relations, Communication Strategising & Business Leadership; rising the corporate ladder from being a Communications & Marketing Operative to Head: Communications &; Marketing, at City of Cape Town for 13 years. Lately, Themba became an entrepreneur, owning Amava Heritage Publishing Pty Ltd, one of the very few black-owned publishing houses in South Africa. Other board positions apart from chairing the DFA one, chair: Public Relations Industry Advisory Committee CPUT, chair: New Afrika Development Corporation. Chair: New Afrika Bible Church Board. Recently appointed to the Advisory Board of the Bulletin of the National Library of South Africa based at UCT.
Allison Hendricks Allison has been with DFA since 2008 during which time, other than teaching and choreographing on all the programmes, she headed DFA’s Studios@Aden, ran the DFA Bridging Programme since 2011 up until now, and acted as DFA’s event coordinator. She was placed in the position of DFA Artistic Director since the beginning of 2016. Allison also directs the InSPIRAtions Youth Company and runs the strategic partnerships including that of Government / Corporates / Training institutions and schools. She is a UCT School of Dance (formerly UCT Ballet School) graduate, having completed Teacher’s Diploma – 3yr course (1989-1991) and her professional career as dancer & choreographer locally and abroad stems with destinations including Namibia, Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, China Spain before settling in Cape Town. During this time she was a member of Union Dance Company directed by Sonwabo Masepe & Julie Lock Jazzart’s Dance Joint, Christopher Kindo’s Full Circle Dance Company, Sun International. As a former dance educator at the WCED (Western Cape Education Department) including a WCED Arts Focus School as well as qualified ETDP SETA Assessor, she also works as a professional dancer, producer and director in the entertainment industry with dancers, singers and musicians in and around Cape Town. 2019 Allison marks 30 years in her career in the industry.
Johann van der Merwe studied law at the University of Pretoria and the University of Stellenbosch, then did the research for his doctorate at the London School of Economics. His professional career includes lecturing law at the University of Fort Hare (law); Professor at the University of the Western Cape (law) and Professor at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology (public relations & communication). His passion is theatre; and his area of specialisation directing. He has retired to Hermanus where he has recently also taken up directing, together with a friend who does the musical direction of their productions.
Julian van der Westhuizen is a Chartered Accountant and the CEO of Milpark Education (Pty) Ltd, a registered private education provider. Prior to this, he was the National Chairman of Moore Stephens South Africa, an international network of audit firms. He was also a senior partner in the Cape Town office of Moore Stephens.
Marlene Carstens is the Board Secretary and has been Dance for All’s Company Director since its inception. Prior to this, she worked at the CAPAB Opera Company as PA to Amanda Botha, during which time she typed the manuscript for Botha’s book Phyllis Spira: A Tribute. She then worked at Cape Town City Ballet (formerly CAPAB Ballet) as secretary and later as its Company Manager, until 2001. During that time, she orchestrated the administration for the fledgling outreach programme, which eventually became Dance for All.
Patrons:
Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu – Honorary Life Patron
Philip Boyd – Honorary Patron
Marlene le Roux
Soli Philander
Melanie Verwoerd
Mpho Tutu