Toby Fine (6 December 1932, Cape Town, South Africa - November 2010,

Lugano Lugano (, , ; lmo, label=Ticinese dialect, Ticinese, Lugan ) is a city and municipality in Switzerland, part of the Lugano District in the canton of Ticino. It is the largest city of both Ticino and the Italian-speaking southern Switzerland. Luga ...

, Switzerland) was a South African ballet dancer. She was a member of both the

New York City Ballet New York City Ballet (NYCB) is a ballet company founded in 1948 by choreographer George Balanchine and Lincoln Kirstein. Balanchine and Jerome Robbins are considered the founding choreographers of the company. Léon Barzin was the company' ...

and Johannesburg Festival Ballet Company.

Early life

Fine, the daughter of Issy and Paula Fine, was born in Cape Town. She attended Athlone High School in Johannesburg before enrolling at the

Royal Academy of Dance "Health and happiness" , predecessor = , successor = , formation = 1920 , extinction = , type = NGO , status = Registered charity , purpose = Examination board – dance education and training , headquarters = 36 Battersea SquareSW11 3 ...

in London where she gained her Advanced Honours Diploma and Solo Seal. In 1949 she was awarded the Adeline Genée Cup for the best dancer in Southern Africa and won the SA Ballet Open Competition in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949.

Career

She was a soloist for the

for a season after

George Balanchine George Balanchine (; Various sources: * * * * born Georgiy Melitonovich Balanchivadze; ka, გიორგი მელიტონის ძე ბალანჩივაძე; January 22, 1904 (O. S. January 9) – April 30, 1983) was ...

, then director of the company, picked her to replace an injured dancer for a performance at the

Royal Opera House The Royal Opera House (ROH) is an opera house and major performing arts venue in Covent Garden, central London. The large building is often referred to as simply Covent Garden, after a previous use of the site. It is the home of The Royal Op ...

and kept her. After two years Fine returned to South Africa and became the Prima Ballerina for the Johannesburg Festival Ballet Company where she danced in ''Swan Lake'' alongside Margot Fonteyn and

Michael Somes Michael George Somes CBE (28 September 191718 November 1994), was an English ballet dancer. He was a principal dancer of The Royal Ballet, London, and the frequent partner of Margot Fonteyn. Early years Somes was born in Horsley, Gloucestersh ...

Personal life

After returning to Cape Town, she married

David Bloomberg David Bloomberg (1932 – 26 October 2020) was a former Mayor of Cape Town, lawyer, anti-apartheid campaigner, theatre columnist, theatre director and author. Early life Bloomberg was born in the Cape Town suburb of Sea Point in 1932, and educat ...

on 24 February 1957 and they had two children together. He was later the Mayor of Cape Town from 1973 to 1975. When Fine grew unwell, they moved to the UK in 1988 where she had a successful kidney transplant. They then settled in Lugano, Switzerland where Fine died in 2010. The Bloomberg family set up the Toby Fine Ballet Fund in her memory. The fund sponsors ballet performances and provides scholarships to dancers.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fine, Toby 1932 births 2010 deaths South African ballerinas South African ballet dancers People from Cape Town