Ché is a 21-year old teacher, dancer and choreographer at Tierra Flamenca Dance Studio.
Ché was raised to the strains of Ravel’s Bolero, her favourite pretend-ballerina music to dance to with her mother. She started formal ballet at the age of 4. She completed, and achieved Distinctions for, all of her Royal Academy of Dance (RAD) examinations up to Intermediate level at the Ingrid Carlson School of Ballet. Ché started Spanish dancing classes at the Wilvan School of Dance at age 11. There, Ché achieved Distinctions for all her exams from Ingreso to Tercer Año Estudiante Flamenco (Advanced) through the internationally-recognized Spanish Dance Society (SDS). Ché also achieved a Distinction for Dance Studies in Matric (2009), which she did as an 8th subject at school.
Ché has performed in various classical ballet productions and eisteddfods, including Cape Town City Ballet’s The Nutcracker at The Artscape Theatre.
Ché directed and co-choreographed her first dance piece Bianca at the age of 15. This was performed at the Artscape Arena. At 16, Ché choreographed her first full, flamenco dance solo which was performed as a part of La Noche Flamenco at Obs Café.
Over the years, Ché has developed a deep love for Flamenco dancing, and it is this love for the art form that has allowed her to further her Flamenco studies in Spain. Ché has been fortunate to travel to Spain: as a very young and inexperienced dancer in 2003, and twice in 2010 (June/July and November/December), as a more motivated and inspired dancer and teacher. In 2010, her trips were largely funded by the National Arts Council of South Africa.
Ché has studied at the most prestigious and well-known Flamenco school in the world, Amor de Dios, in Madrid. Here, she attended classes with some of the Flamenco greats; La Truco, Inmaculada Ortega, La Tati and Manuel Reyes. In Jerez de la Frontera, one of the birthplaces of Flamenco, Ché studied with Vicki Ramos and Andres Peña. During her most recent visit to Spain, Ché attended classes and lived in Granada, another cradle of Flamenco. She attended Professional Level Flamenco dance technique, choreography and compas (rhythmic) classes at Carmen de las Cuevas with two of Granada’s best dancers, Estefania Martinez and Javier Martos. In 2012, Ché attended the Festival de Jerez for the first time, 2 weeks solely dedicated to flamenco. There, she did classes with Belen Maya and Antonio El Pipa. Since then, she has returned to Festival de Jerez and to Seville in 2013 to keep her passion supplemented.
Whenever Ché gets back from Spain, she feels more motivated and inspired than the previous time and strives to teach as much of what she has learned as possible, and strives to keep her personal standard as high as possible.
Ché has her SDS Instructor de Baile (formal teacher’s qualification), is a part time company member at La Rosa Spanish Dance Theatre, and is also a Psychology student. She has been teaching the Advanced Open Class at Tierra Flamenca since its inception. It is her dream to launch her own professional dance company and she is working hard on making it happen.
Carlyn
"Flamenco rhythm strikes at the heart of my soul and stirs in me an almost primitive urge to express my feelings through baile (dance) - in a way that is so intensely personal, so powerful yet so humbling" - Carlyn
Carlyn has been teaching since 2004 and has completed her Instructor de Baile I, Instructor de Baile II and Profesor De Baile (PDB) teaching qualifications in 2009, attaining 94% for her academic thesis. She is one of only two SDS teachers who have the distinction of holding this advanced teaching qualification in South Africa. The PDB qualification enables her to train dancers up to Advanced Level in all types of Spanish Dancing, namely Regional, Escuela Bolera (Classical) and Flamenco, and to train teachers at junior and senior levels in all disciplines. (Teachers are accredited by the Education Dept to teach Dance Studies). Carlyn is a strong believer in lifelong learning and has furthered her Flamenco studies, both as dancer and teacher in Spain.
Opening the Tierra Flamenca Dance Studio is the culmination of a childhood dream. Her experiences in the corporate world, as a mother and a student of dance at various life stages, have enhanced her ability to teach students of all ages and with varying aspirations.
Carlyn
"Flamenco rhythm strikes at the heart of my soul and stirs in me an almost primitive urge to express my feelings through baile (dance) - in a way that is so intensely personal, so powerful yet so humbling" - Carlyn
Carlyn started dance lessons at the age of 7, excelling at classical ballet and later Flamenco. Throughout her youth, dancing was her passion. For the fairly introspective young girl, it was the ultimate means of artistic self-expression. She stopped dancing at the age of 19, disillusioned by the limited career options available at the time. Twenty-one years later, she resumed dancing, filling the void that had not-so-silently welled up inside her. She immersed herself mind, body and soul into Spanish dancing, completing all her Dancer’s Exams (under the auspices of the international Spanish Dance Society) with distinction. She is a recipient of the prestigious Mercedes Molina Award.
Carlyn has been teaching since 2004 and has completed her Instructor de Baile I, Instructor de Baile II and Profesor De Baile (PDB) teaching qualifications in 2009, attaining 94% for her academic thesis. She is one of only two SDS teachers who have the distinction of holding this advanced teaching qualification in South Africa. The PDB qualification enables her to train dancers up to Advanced Level in all types of Spanish Dancing, namely Regional, Escuela Bolera (Classical) and Flamenco, and to train teachers at junior and senior levels in all disciplines. (Teachers are accredited by the Education Dept to teach Dance Studies). Carlyn is a strong believer in lifelong learning and has furthered her Flamenco studies, both as dancer and teacher in Spain.
Opening the Tierra Flamenca Dance Studio is the culmination of a childhood dream. Her experiences in the corporate world, as a mother and a student of dance at various life stages, have enhanced her ability to teach students of all ages and with varying aspirations.
Carlyn is passionate about sharing Flamenco, recently declared an “Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity” by UNESCO, with children and adults, through teaching dance and promoting audience development, across the broad spectrum of South African society. Her next step is to launch an “Adopt a Dancer” funding initiative to extend opportunities to economically disadvantaged children.
Carlyn is married to Ian; they have two children, Giran (28), in advertising and Ché (21), flamenco dancer, teacher, chorerographer and Psychology student, who shares her mother’s passion for Flamenco.
