Georgina Thomson was presented with the annual Tunkie Award at the grand opening of the FNB Dance Umbrella 2010 last night. Thomson is an arts administrator extraordinaire and long-time Artistic Director of the FNB Dance Umbrella.

A dynamic arts practitioner for over 25 years, she has played and continues to play a significant role in the development of Contemporary Dance in South Africa. In this time she has worn many different hats and filled many roles: fundraiser; producer; project manager; trainer; and mentor, to name a few. A woman of many achievements, this two-time Arts & Culture Trust winner (Arts Administration/ 2001 and Arts Management / 2007) has served on the National Arts Council’s Dance Committee (1999-2002) and has received, as FNB Dance Umbrella Artistic Director, many invitations to numerous festivals and conferences.

She took over the management and administration of the FNB Dance Umbrella Festival in 1997 and successfully developed it from a local Gauteng-based festival to one that is now nationally and internationally known. She built up a strong audience-base with support and interest in South African and international Contemporary Dance. She instituted the Young Choreographers’ Residency programme and has developed an aesthetic; an ethos; and a platform for young artists.

The Tunkie Award was launched in 2003, in remembrance of Xolani Nettleton Dyusha (1961-1999), nicknamed Tunkie. He came from a disadvantaged background in the Eastern Cape. Despite enormous obstacles, he was able to further his education at a tertiary level, completing qualifications in business; marketing; and sales. He worked with the team that conceptualised and subsequently launched the Nedbank Arts and Culture affinity programme, culminating in the establishment of the Arts and Culture Trust of the President, with former President Nelson Mandela as it’s Patron. He was involved in many important ground-breaking initiatives and arts sponsorships: the Dance Theatre of Harlem; the first post-sanctions cultural tour; and thereafter many other more local and very significant arts sponsorships.

Dr Ivan May presented the Tunkie Award for Leadership in Dance, curated by the UJ Arts Centre, to a visibly overwhelmed Thomson. “ I am completely speechless,” she said. The Award was presented to her in acknowledgement of her unwavering contribution and dedication to the development of contemporary dance in South Africa.

FNB Dance Umbrella 2010, presented by First National Bank in association with the National Arts Council and The Market Theatre, will run to 14 March, with performances at various Johannesburg theatres: the Wits Theatre in Braamfontein; the UJ Arts Centre in Auckland Park; and the Dance Factory, the Market Theatre, and the Barney Simon theatre in Newtown.

Tickets are available at the door or at Computicket - 083 915 8000 - and prices range from R60 to R100. Concessions/block bookings and subscription tickets are available. For further information, contact 011 492 0709/2033 or e-mail danceumbrella@artslink.co.za. The FNB Dance Umbrella 2010 hot-line for updates and programme schedules is 072 703 9332. Visit www.artslink.co.za/arts.

The FNB Dance Umbrella 2010 has been made possible with assistance from First National Bank and the National Arts Council. Other partners include the Market Theatre; the French Institute of South Africa; the French Embassy in South Africa, Culturesfrance; Business and Arts South Africa; the Goethe-Institute of Südafrika; the British Council; and Media partners: Citizen CitiVibe, ClassicFeel Magazine, and Artslink.co.za.