The Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) named choreographer and dance instructor Alfred Hinkel as the first recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award for Dance. Alfred Hinkel was born in 1953 in a small copper mining town called Nababeep outside Springbok in the Northern Cape, where at the age of 10 he began taking ballet against his father’s wishes. Later in life, he enrolled to study a Bachelor of Arts in Drama at the University of Cape Town but soon realised that he wanted nothing more than to dance.

In 1976, he established his first dance company, Die Namakwalandse Dans Geselskap in Nababeep and Okiep, in the Northern Cape. This was the start of his working relationship with Dawn Langdown and John Linden. In 1978, he spent a brief period in Windhoek, Namibia creating a second dance company called The Dial Dance Company with local dance teacher Dianne Sparks.

He relocated to Cape Town in 1981 and five years later bought the Jazzart Dance Studios from Val Stein. He spent the next few years transforming the dance company into one of South Africa’s premiere performing arts, training and performance institutions. The studio was later renamed as The Jazzart Dance Theatre. Hinkel was also instrumental in establishing a Durban-based dance company called the Phenduka Dance Theatre.

Hinkel is known for his creativity and commitment to pushing the boundaries of dance and the work done during his tenure as Artist Director at Jazzart (1986-2010) has had a tremendous impact in the South African dance industry which has also resonated in training and performance realms. His time at Jazzart represents one of the most important creative, educational, socio-political careers in the country’s South African Dance industry.

To date, he has received several choreographic awards and recognition for his services to the dance community including: the 1997 Standard Bank Young Artist Special Award for his vision, commitment and contribution to dance in South Africa; 1998 – Gordon Reid Fellowship for dance; 2004 – Tunkie Memorial Award for Outstanding Dedication and Leadership; 2006 – Western Cape Cultural Commission Award for Service to the Dance Community; 2008 – Department of Cultural Affairs and Sport Annual Cultural Award.

In 2010 Hinkel relocated back to his hometown of Okiep in the Northern Cape, where he ran his dance company, Garage, from his home. He is best renowned as a dance educator who is particularly skilled at developing raw talent, achieving outstanding results in a short space of time and pushing creative boundaries as an artist.

The first Dance Lifetime Achievement Award was presented by ACT Trustee Trish Downing and Terence Bridgette.

Presented by the Arts & Culture Trust and hosted by Sun International, the ACT Awards was supported by long-time partners SAMRO, DALRO, Media24 Books, Nedbank Arts Affinity, Distell Foundation, Creative Feel Magazine and Business and Arts South Africa. JTI came on board this year as sponsor of the inaugural Lifetime Achievement Award for Dance.

Other Lifetime Achievement Award Winners include: Caiphus Semenya for Music, Omar Badsha for Visual Art, Thembi Mtshali-Jones for Theatre, Don Mattera for Literature and Johnny Mekoa for Arts Advocacy.

Each Lifetime Achievement Award winner receives R30 000 as a cash prize.

Click here for more information about the Arts & Culture Trust (ACT) please visit www.act.org.za.