Faculty Member

Name: Mme Slou Saparovna Akimguereeva
Details: Slou Saparovna Akimguereeva was born in Kazakstan. Despite trauma to her spine as a child, her mother enrolled her in gymnastic, swimming and dance classes to strengthen her. At the age of 9 she was accepted into the Almaty Ballet School where she trained for 8 years. She studied under renowned classical teachers such as Lydia Rafailova from Moscow and Tamara Kosova from St Petersburg and in 1981 she graduated from the school with honours obtaining the qualification of Ballet Dancer. She then decided to pursue a career in teaching and was accepted into the Moscow GITIS (now Russian Academy of Arts) and as an 18 year old she was the youngest student. During her time a GITIS she danced in many productions and in 1986 Slou obtained the Master of Ballet and Choreographer Diploma from GITIS, sanctioned by the State Qualification Board. After Peristroika she went to Senegal with her huband Abdu Ndiegen and there she taught dancing, musical appreciation and art at an art school she established with her husband. In 2005, following the passing of her husband, Slou came to South Africa and joined the teaching staff of the Ballet School run under the auspices of The South African Ballet Theatre. She will be teaching ballet at the CJB Summer Intensive 2008 Master Classical Seminar.