Dulcie Howes

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Dulcie Howes born 1908, Mossel Bay, was a South African ballet dancer. She was the daughter of Justice Reed Howes, who immigrated to South Africa at the end of the South African War, and Muriel Alice Lind. He was the headmaster of Oudtshoorn Boys High School but after his marriage he moved to Cape Town where he practised as an advocate. Dulcie Howes was one of the first pupils of Herschel Girls School when it opened in 1922. She left South Africa to train in England and joined Anna Pavlova's company touring across Europe. She returned to South Africa in 1930 and opened a ballet school in Rondebosch to teach ballet, ballroom and Spanish dancing. The school was later moved to the College of Music which led to the founding of the UCT Ballet School in 1932. in the period 1932 to 1952, she also choreographed 30 original ballets such as La Famille, Vlei Legend, Bach Suite and The Enchanted Well. In 1935, she was appointed Director of the Little Theatre and established the UCT Ballet Company. In 1950, the Dulcie Howes Ballet Trust Fund was establishe to fund dancers to study abroad and to sponsor guest artists to South Africa. In 1965, the UCT Ballet Company became CAPAB but Dulcie Howes remained as artistic director until 1969 when she retired. In 1972, she also retired as principal of the UCT Ballet School.

[edit] Awards

She received many awards in her lifetime including: Cape Tercentenary Foundation Award in 1953, Cecchetti Gold Medal in 1969, the SA Academy for Arts and Sciences gold medal in 1970 and an Honorary Doctorate in Music by UCT in 1976.

She married Guy Cronwright, Managing Director of the Cape Times in London in 1937 and had two daughters, Amelia and Victoria. Her daughter, Victoria Cawood, is currently the executive chairman of Cape Town City Ballet.