This holiday season, Joburg Ballet is spreading love one dance step at a time.
The “Joburg Ballet Cares” programme, directed by Chase Bosch is hosting a fund-raising showcase titled “Dancers Unite for Goodwill”, at the Joburg Theatre on Friday, November 25.
All proceeds will be donated to the Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children, Kitty and Puppy Haven and Cheryl Lyn’s Rescue Foundation.
Bosch told IOL Entertainment this initiative will be his parting gift to Joburg Ballet and the three charities that are very close to his heart.
“Every year since 2020, I have been creating what’s known as the ‘Pandora’s Showcase’, that’s usually held in May.
“But, I thought, now that I’m resigning from Joburg Ballet, I wanted to host one last big charity event in their name,” Bosch said.
Pandora’s Showcase is a fund-raiser performance by dancers from the Joburg Ballet school and dance professionals such Ivan Domiciano, Alice le Roux and Sarah Miller in the effort help raise funds for charity.
“‘Dancers Unite for Goodwill’ is essentially kind of the same concept as the ‘Pandora Showcase’ except I’ve asked other dancers from other studios, in the Johannesburg area, to be part of this event.
“I also have put together some raffle prizes just to help in raising more funds. These funds are going to be split between Teddy Bear Clinic for Abused Children and Kitty and Puppy Haven. Any surplus will be donated to the Cheryl Lyn’s Rescue Foundation.”
Elaborating on his choice of foundations and charities, Bosch said: “The Teddy Bear Clinic is under the Teddy Bear Foundation South Africa but you get different clinics throughout the nation, but particularly in Johannesburg, there’s one based in Soweto and another in Braamfontein.”
“We’ve done everything from creating bookshelves and then getting in books for the children. Just last week we dropped off 200 cupcakes for the children.”
Following the kids cake drive, Bosch said he wanted to do something for the teenage mothers as well.
“So I’ll be giving a cash donation to the Teddy Bear Foundation but more in aid of teen moms.
“So every December, since 2020, we’ve been raising funds to buy these teenage mothers, stationary and other school essentials.
“Raising a child is incredibly expensive and I do want to make sure at least what they use in school is covered to some degree. I would hate it if they had to leave school just to go and get a job and raise a child.
“So that’s one side of it. The second side of it is the Kitty and Puppy Haven, I’ve got a very soft spot for kitties and puppies of course, and animals in general. And I just make enough big cash donations or I buy them like a big hamper of dog food, cat food and other essentials.
“I’ve recently started working with Cheryl Lyn Foundation. They are based in Western Cape. Cheryl Lyn helps rescue neglected and abused dogs. She’s quite staunch in ending the dog fighting rings in the Western Cape, so I also want support her cause.”
As part of the event, there will also be stalls where small businesses will market their products.
Stalls will be open at 2pm. Performance will start at 3pm.
Tickets are available at Webtickets for R100.
For those who can’t attend but want to contribute, please make a donation of your choice or donate the price of a ticket here.