Phyllis Spira

When she was 15, her headmistress, recognizing her exceptional talent, obtained official permission for her to leave school at the end of the tenth grade to pursue her dance training.

During her brief tenure with this new, young company, she danced leading roles in Swan Lake, Giselle, Sylvia, and Casse Noisette (The Nutcracker).

An unfortunate salary dispute led to her defection, along with her frequent partner Gary Burne, to the company in Cape Town.

Spira's repertory ranged widely, varying from the lyrical (Les Sylphides) to the dramatic (Romeo and Juliet) to the technically spectacular (Don Quixote).

Besides classical ballet, Spira was a gifted Spanish dancer, appearing in Marina Keet's productions of The Three-Cornered Hat (1966), set to the famous score by Manuel de Falla, and Fiesta Manchega (1973), to music by Francisco Guerrero.

Peter Williams, editor of Dance and Dancers, wrote that "Spira looked uncannily like Markova as well as having a flavor of Fonteyn, but with an approach of her own.

"[10] Describing her as "reed-thin and tiny, with huge eyes dominating a gamine face," a writer for the New York Times also likened her to Markova, remarking that they shared "a classical purity of line and delicacy of style wedded to a steely technique.

"[11] She continued to lead the Cape Town company until 1988, when an injury on the opening night of a new production of Giselle brought her dance career to an end.

Following this rare honor, she received South Africa's highest civilian award for excellence, the Order for Meritorious Service, Gold.

Set up to take dance to underprivileged children living in non-white townships, it was active in Gugulethu, Nyanga, and Khayelitsha on the borders of Cape Town and in the rural inland areas of Barrydale and Montagu.