FINE, Toby. Ballerina. (6th December, 1932 - November 2010)

Toby Fine was born in Cape Town, the daughter of Issy and Paula Fine. She was educated at Athlone High School, Johannesburg and studied at the Royal Academy of Dancing in London where she was awarded its Advanced Honours Diploma and Solo Seal. She was a soloist for the New York City Ballet Company and Prima Ballerina for the Johannesburg Festival Ballet Company where she danced in Swan Lake alongside Margo Fonteyn and Michael Soames. In 1949 she was awarded the Adeline Genee Cup for the best dancer in Southern Africa and won the S A Ballet Open Competition in 1946, 1947, 1948 and 1949. After returning to Cape Town in 19??, she married David Bloomberg on 24th February, 1957. He was the Mayor of Cape Town (1973-1975) and creator of The Barn Theatre, located on the Bloomberg estate, ‘Uramarah’, in Constantia. In 1988, the couple moved to England where Toby Fine underwent surgery. They finally settled in Lugano, Switzerland.